On Tuesday the 15th of September 2015, the fourth year students of St. Clements College met at the church for eight in the morning to go off on a day trip. There was much deliberating the week beforehand as to whether we were to go or not as the weather was predicted to be terrible, but in fact it was the best day of September.
Once we got to Doolin we boarded ‘The Rose of Aran’. The boat journey was quite rocky at the start but calmed down about half way through, I can’t say the same for the bus however as the driver had warm air blowing on us through the very windy and hilly Burren, and we had a few incidents in both modes of transport……
We began an excellent spiritual walk as soon as we reached Inis Oírr with Paul our guide. We got a full tour of the history of the island and also meditated on the four elements (Air, Water, Earth & Fire). Meditating on air involved taking four deep breaths and with each facing North, South, East and West. We then visited St.Enda’s well, the islands only holy well. It is believed to be over 2000 years old and has the power to heal. The holy well is named after St. Enda due to him being the patron saint of the Aran Islands. Visiting the well represented Water. After our prayers at the well we each threw a hazelnut into it as a gift and our guide said that the water should be safe enough to drink so, everyone had a taste and I’m still alive to tell the tale!
We walked back to the beach after our tour and visit to the small church of St. Kevin where we lit a candle to represent Fire. We then had our lunch and were allowed to go into the islands tiny shop where I bought an ice-cream.
After lunch the group that were on the walk were free to do whatever they wanted to on the beach. Some played soccer, some played rugby some went off gallivanting and most of us went swimming. The water was crystal clear and the temperature? Let’s just say it was quite refreshing………… So refreshing the cold resulted me in getting a nose bleed!
The boat left for the mainland at half three but before that we had to make a pit-stop at ‘The Man of Aran Fudge’ stall near the pier where I bought a delicious Rocky Road fudge stick.
The boat journey back was much easier than going over as was the bus journey and there were many sleepy heads and sun-burnt faces as well after our long day.
To conclude, a fantastic day was had by all and I will be looking forward to visiting the islands again with my family.
Kealan Casey Donnelly
4th Year
