The Precipice

Today we visited the Cliffs Of Moher. I kept wonder, what is so special about these cliffs...why not the cliffs at Old Head in Kinsale? But when I turned the corner, and on tiptoes, looked over the rock wall they put up to stop people from going over to the edge of the cliffs, I understood why this area draws people from all over the world. Truly, the green rolling hills, and rock walls go all the way to the end, and then whoop...straight cliff. Not for the faint in heart, these cliffs used to provide nourishment for the local people from the beginning of people in the area through World War II. In social studies, we read aloud Nory Ryan's Song, by Patricia Riley Giff. It is the story of a teenager living in Famine Ireland. In the novel, Nory, as a last ditch effort to feed her family, decides she needs to go over the cliffs in her area to collect the eggs of the birds who make their nests in the sides of the cliffs. Though Nory lives closer to Galway in the novel, I immediately imagined Nory on the sides of the Cliffs of Moher when I got as close as I could to the edge. The Cliffs of Moher, as in other cliffs on the Irish cost, became the Famine Irishman's hope for food. To collect eggs, one would tie a large rope around their waist, stand on the edge of the precipice, back facing the ocean, and several men would lower that one person down to find eggs. This was extremely dangerous. Not only were there dangers in the fact you were being lowered down a cliff, and the rope could break at any moment, or your body could be slammed into the rock, but you had to fight off the birds who were protecting their nests. Standing on these cliffs today, I could imagine how desperate a family would have to be to do this.

Today is our last day in Ireland. And as I think about what we have learned, I find myself standing on a precipice of learning. The extent of knowledge we have gained is vast, and will take weeks to unravel. We have photos, this blog, artifacts and video of not just the Cliff of Moher, but of each day. We forward march into the summer armed with knowledge and insight. We are happy we have the summer to prepare everything we have learned. It is bittersweet to leave, I look forward to going home to my children, but I am finding it hard to leave.

Noel and Stephanie

We don't have Internet access in the town we are staying in tonight. Pictures of today will be posted later this week. Though our trip to Ireland is over, the synthesis of our learning is not. We will continue to post entries of our new learning in the weeks to come. Come back and visit our site if you feel so inclined. Stephanie has vowed to learn how to play the Irish flute, so, perhaps we will post video, if we learn how, of her first concert!