To Be Checked
Clothes
Bathroom necessities (toothbrush, hairbrush, etc.)
Carry On
Laptop
Kindle
Medications
External hard drive
Camera
Cords for all my electronics
And that's pretty much it. Can anyone think of anything else I would need? Other than passport and important papers or whatever.
I have been reading other blogs by fellow soon-to-be Ireland travelers (Liz's: http://wheresthecraicdublin.blogspot.com/ and Andy's: http://andyinireland.blogspot.com/) and I have been hearing people talk about "what they know about Ireland" or "what they're researching about Ireland". It occurs to me that I don't know much about things that happened in Ireland past the 1500s. I have done a lot of research of ancient or pre-Christian Ireland, and a fair bit of the time just after Christianity arrived, but not much else. I can tell you that the name 'Dublin' comes from the Irish words 'Dubh Linn' which mean Black Pool and refers to the estuary of the River Liffey.
I can tell you that the reason Ireland is known for its redheads is actually because of the Vikings who came from Norway and took over Dubh Linn to make it an economic port.
I can tell you that monasteries used to have high stone towers with a door that could only be reached by way of a tall ladder where the brethren would shut themselves in and wait out times of war.
I can tell you that the druids used a written language called Ogham and that they celebrated the seasons with eight main ceremonies at the equinoxes, solstices, and four points in between. Can I tell you anything about the Irish government? No. Can I tell you anything about the conflict in Northern Ireland? No. But I can tell you stories of the mythical hero Cuchulainn, the traveler Bran, and the crafty deities known as the Tuatha de Danann.
Ok, so I don't know much useful information. But I am hoping it will serve me well in my Early Irish History class.
A lot of what I know comes from this historical fiction. This author is incredibly thorough and writes a fascinating and mostly historically-accurate narrative. 800 pages well worth reading! :)