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To seek Christ, Know Christ and Become Christ, each one for the sake of all

After a peaceful and uneventful six and a half hour flight that included a brief stopover in Dublin, the group arrived in Shannon at 9:30am to begin the first of their seven days in their new home away from home. We hit the ground running. On our way south to Killarney, to give us a taste of the sights, sounds, and smells of Ireland, we stopped for a tour of Bunratty Castle and the Bunratty Folk Park, a re-creation of a 19th century Irish village. Since the last food we'd had was hours ago on our flight, we walked from the castle to Durty Nelly's, one of Ireland's oldest pubs. Founded in 1620, the pub provided us with our own room in the loft, great brown soda bread, hot soup and fish chowder, and sandwiches. Onward to Killarney, we made one more stop in the beautiful village of Adare to stretch a bit, take a short walk in the village park, and make a visit to the Trinitarian Abbey, a gorgeous 13th century church where, by our good fortune, Eucharistic Adoration was taking place. We stopped and said prayers for good health and happiness during our visit, blessings for the families we'd left behind, thanksgiving for those parishioners who'd helped us in our fundraising efforts to make this trip possible, and petition for good voices when it came time for us to sing. We didn't know it then, but all those prayers would be answered a hundredfold!

When we arrived in Killarney (about 4:30pm), we settled into the rooms at our Bed and Breakfast, washed up, and, not yet ready to call it quits, took the four minute walk into the center of Killarney where Mr. Benson gave us the walking tour to familiarize us with the lay of the land. In Killarney, we saw something that impressed us and that we'd see a lot of while we were in Ireland: people walk; everywhere. Pedestrian traffic in the villages of Ireland is common and constant. Whether its 11:00am or 10:00pm, one can expect to see folks walking about. We liked that. It gives the streets of Ireland a very human and very friendly face. By now, everyone was tired, happy to be in Ireland, and ready for a good night's sleep. Day one in Ireland, and we already felt welcomed and at home.

Some of the highlights of our four-day stay in County Kerry:

• Singing of Mass at the beautiful Franciscan Friary in Killarney. The church has a beautiful altar that was carved in Belgium. Brother Pat Lynch who greeted us on our arrival for a rehearsal the night before we sang couldn't have made us feel more at home. He gave us a glimpse of that astonishing Irish hospitality that we'd encounter again and again during our travels. We sang Mass from the gallery for a congregation that was enthusiastic in its gratitude. After Mass, we were invited into the sanctuary for a group picture with Brother Pat and the celebrant, Fr. Liam (who actually looked younger than most of us!) in front of that gorgeous altar. We learned a great deal about the value Franciscans place on hospitality; we were given the warmest of welcomes in this corner of the Church far away from home. In a note to the choir after we returned back home, Brother Pat wrote, "We were very impressed by the maturity of the group and by the wonderful singing. All of us here send peace and every blessing."

• A visit to Pobalscoil Corca Dhuibhne (that's Irish for 'Dingle Peninsula Community School'). This is a national secondary school (roughly equivalent to our grades 7 through 12) in that part of Ireland known as the Gaeltacht. In the Gaeltacht, Irish is spoken as the primary language, and at this school, Irish is spoken exclusively. We were there to perform an informal concert of African-American Spirituals. In turn, some of their students performed Irish traditional music (reels, jigs, and the like) on traditional instruments. To top things off, the music teacher, a terrific and enthusiastic young woman named Mairéad Edmonds, taught us and then had us do some traditional ceili (dancing) with her students. It was, as they say in Ireland, a great bit of craic (fun!), and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely!

After our time with the music students, the Principal, Paud Ferriter, gave us a tour of the school. Before last September, there were two separate secondary schools in Dingle, one for the boys, another for the girls. The new school accommodates both and has a total enrollment of about 430 students. Our "quick" (it took an hour and a half!) tour took us to every room in this beautiful new building and it was clear that Paud took great pride in his new building, its students, teachers, and staff. Again, we were impressed by the extraordinary generosity with both time and hospitality that were shared with us. Our only disappointment was that we wished we'd have been able to spend more time getting to know our new friends. However, they had a school day to complete, and we were on our way to other adventures.

• Our visit to Dingle included a demonstration by master crystal cutter Sean Daly. Seanstarted his professional life by working as a crystal cutter for famed Waterford Crystal. When Waterford went to mass-producing many of its pieces and contracting out to Eastern European cutters for some of its production, Sean decided to set up his own shop. Dingle Crystal is the result. Using deeper-angled cuts than in crystal produced for mass markets, Sean's crystal sparkles with a fiery brilliance. Each piece is personally hand cut and signed by Sean himself. More than a few of us came home with one of Sean's beautiful limited-edition Christmas ornaments. There's an unusual Milwaukee connection to be made here as well: When he's not making beautiful crystal, Sean can be found riding around the west of Ireland on his Harley. Matter of fact, he's responsible for having started the Kerry Harley Owners Group (HOG). When we visited his shop, we brought him a Harley coffee mug and some "Bikers' Brew" coffee from Wisconsin. He was so grateful that he insisted on having his picture taken with it, and tells us that picture will be making an appearance on his web page. We're grateful to Sean and his wife, Liz, for their warm welcome and for a great demonstration of the crystal maker's art.

• While in Dingle, we also sang a 7:30pm Mass at the Church of St. Mary. The pastor, Fr. Tom Looney, thanked us for helping the people of St. Mary's pray through our music, taught us a few new words in Irish, and spent time after Mass welcoming us and wishing us well.

• A day spent exploring the Ring of Kerry. The Ring is basically a tour around the entire Iveragh peninsula, and includes the most magnificent scenery imaginable—everything from amazing costal views to the McGillicuddy Reeks, a spectacular mountain range in County Kerry, to a surprising shrine to the Blessed Mother that springs up out of nowhere around one of the turns in the road, to the million greens that make up the patchwork quilt of farms and stone walls that define so much of the beautiful Irish landscape. Describing the beauty of the country is really impossible. At every turn, our breath was taken away by some new, astonishing beauty. We wondered out loud if the Irish take this for granted; we don't think that would be possible. It's that magnificent!

• The most brilliant rainbow any of us has ever seen. And a double at that! In Dingle. And we could see both ends!! A tour of the Dingle coast that included the beach at Inch (the famous horseback riding scene from Ryan's Daughter was filmed here), Slea Head and a rare view of the Skellig Islands, some 8th century "beehive" huts constructed using dry stone corbeling, built and used by early Irish monks, and some ancient ring forts, the remains of pre-Christian settlements, thousands of which can be found around all of Ireland. During our time at Slea Head, Angela Limbach said it best when, looking out at a dramatic sunset on the Atlantic, she said, "I think God lives here!"

• Horseback riding through Killarney National Park. There's just no way to describe it. Do you love stunning views of mountains and lakes? Then you'd love this! We did!

All in all, we loved Kerry. National Geographic calls it "the most beautiful place on earth." You'll get no argument from any of us. We loved singing there, we loved meeting the people, and there isn't one of us who wouldn't want to go back.

After our four days in County Kerry, it was time to head up to County Clare for three days. Our home base was the wonderful town of Ennis, just twenty minutes or so north of the airport at Shannon. As in Killarney, our cozy Bed and Breakfast was just a few minutes' walk from the center of Ennis, and, again, much like Killarney (but on a much smaller scale); Ennis is very much a pedestrian's paradise. Everything is close by, and the cathedral in Ennis at which we sang two Masses, Ss. Peter and Paul, was a straight-shot two-minute walk from the B&B right on the way into town.

Highlights of our stay in County Clare:

• A two-hour choir rehearsal in the cathedral. The sexton, (a wonderful older man, surprised us by sticking two fingers into his mouth and whistling the first few bars of Panis Angelicus!) was waiting for us, showed us around, and left us to rehearse. The cathedral choir was practicing in another part of the building, and many of them popped into the cathedral to listen to our rehearsal.
• Lahinch, a coastal town famous for its surfing, golfing, and beautiful beach. The tide was in, so we didn't have much beach, but we did run into a television crew from the Irish TV network, TG4. TG4 is the Irish-speaking network in the Republic of Ireland, and, just as our coach pulled into the parking lot at the beach, they decided to tape! Ends up that Liz Conway and Chuck Kallinger, two of the parents on the tour, were interviewed. The news piece had to do with a controversial change in an Aer Lingus (Ireland's national airline) schedule and its effect on Irish tourism. Our folks were asked for their impressions of Ireland. Well, we made the news that evening! The woman who ran the B&B at which we stayed was kind enough to tape the segment for us, so we have it for posterity! The news story is in Irish, but, fortunately, is subtitled, and Liz and Chuck did a great job. In English, of course.   View the video of our TV spot....
• St. Brigid’s well, one of the hundreds of Holy Wells that dot Ireland. For centuries, this well has been a place of prayer and devotion. Holy Wells were particularly important to Irish Catholics during that time in Irish history when the practice of their faith was prohibited by law. Surreptitious (but fierce!) devotional practices sprang up in the face of this persecution, and devotion to the local (and, thus, well-know and well-loved) saints helped keep the flame of Irish faith alive. To this day, there are still strong traces of these devotional practices evident around the country. As St. Brigid is one of the "Big Two" Irish saints (St. Patrick being the other), devotion to her is strong and vivid. It's clear that the well is carefully taken care of and often visited. People leave behind little mementos, religious and non-religious, almost as a way of saying, "St. Brigid, please remember my intentions and my loved ones." We did the same. Each of us took some quiet time to bless ourselves with the water from the well, and to commend our loved ones, both living and dead, to the intercession of St. Brigid.
• The magnificent Cliffs of Moher—sheer majestic cliffs that rise 700 feet out of the Atlantic. The weather (as it had been, almost miraculously throughout the trip!) was beautiful and clear. It was so clear that we could see out to the Aran Islands. Picture opportunities abounded. Then further on to the lunar-like Burren, a geological curiosity found only in Ireland where stark limestone landscape mixes with some of the most unusual flora found in all of Europe. The only other place on earth some of the flowers found here exist is, of all places, in the Alps! The Burren is a rare and beautiful place.
• Shopping in lively and picturesque Galway in the pedestrian shopping streets. It's here that we saw one of the most unusual Christmas parades ever imagined, it's here that we visited the jeweler that created (and still sells) the original Claddagh ring, and it's here that we visited the Spanish Arch, the remnant of a fortification on the sea that reminded us that Ireland's history is often the story of one invasion after another. The Spanish had left their mark here. (It shows up in some Irish names as well: the surname Costello is Spanish!)
• Singing two Masses at the cathedral in Ennis, one on Saturday evening, and one at noon on Sunday morning. Both were packed, and at both we were left in no doubt as to how grateful the congregation was for our singing. A big surprise for us was that at the noon Mass, the celebrant was the bishop of Galway, Bishop William Walsh. There was no "special" occasion; apparently, Bishop Walsh makes it a practice to visit all of the parishes within his diocese during the course of a year. We lucked into singing for his visit to Ennis! After Mass, he thanked us, took some time to speak with us, and had his picture taken with us. We've forwarded this picture to Archbishop Dolan, who wrote back to tell us that he's jealous.

All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime. Existing friendships were made stronger, and new ones were forged. We were proud to represent St. Dominic and the larger Church to our brother and sister Catholics in Ireland. We learned a great deal about hospitality, warmth, friendship and family. We got a peek at another culture. We got to experience the universal Church in a different country, and that was great; we're proud and happy to be Catholics! We're aware that without the generosity and support of so many of you, this trip wouldn't have been possible. We can't begin to thank you, but know that we do remember you, every day, in our prayers. We were glad to have the opportunity to sing great music. We loved Ireland! Every single one of us would love to go back someday. Ireland does that to you; it steals a little bit of your heart so that you want to go back to get it. We'd do it all over again in a second!

We're also grateful for the love and support of our parents, and are so happy that nine of them came along on the tour with us. They were fun to have along!
Here are some of their comments:

• Deb Benz, Katie's mom writes, "One thing that really stands out for me was the look on the choir members' faces when the Irish people showed their appreciation for the music they sang during Mass. All of the kids (teens) were beaming with joy. They should be very proud because they sang beautifully.

"As far as the sightseeing, the scenery was breathtaking, from the waves crashing against the shore to the beams of sunlight shining out of the clouds into the ocean. I don't think anyone of us will forget the gorgeous rainbow we saw in Dingle. I can't recall seeing a rainbow where all the colors were so vivid; the violet was gorgeous.

• Sue and Chuck Kallinger, Kev and Nick's mom and dad (Chuck was one of our intrepid "official" photographers!) added, "We all had a great time in Ireland. The reaction of the kids when they saw the beauty there was just priceless. They learned a lot about our Catholic faith and about the struggles of the Irish people. Mr. Benson and our Teen Choir were great ambassadors. They sang beautifully and represented St. Dominic’s very well. We were very proud to be with them."

• Jim and Katy Solberg, mom and dad of Amy said, "One of the most interesting comments she made had to do with the school children. She mentioned a number of times how welcoming their faces and facial expressions were. They were so unpretentious. She said there was no pressure to have boy-girl relationships. The kids just seemed so at ease with being themselves. Amy said she would like to raise a family over there. The stores apparently close early so that people can spend quality time together instead of working or hanging out at the mall until 10:00pm.

• Amy Solberg remarked, "Ireland was an incredible experience, far more incredible than I had anticipated. Not only was every inch of it absolutely beautiful (and GREEN), but everything we did was so fun and different from anything I've ever experienced. The streets lined with quaint stores is unlike anything you can find in Brookfield, not to mention the beautiful churches and cathedral. Singing for the bishop was quite a highlight. As amazing as the country was, it was even greater getting to know my choir mates. Even after rehearsing week after week with all of them, they were just other people in the room. Having spent a week in another country, the whole choir got to know one another and grew closer, making the trip that much more fun.
  

"We would like to give a big THANK YOU to Mr. Benson for putting up with us and giving all of us the trip of a lifetime! A big THANKS YOU also, to Mrs. Stein, for all her organizing behind the scenes."

So, there you have it! We've probably left out a million interesting things, but that's ok! It just means that you'll have to stop us the next time you see us, and talk to us about the amazing tour that YOU helped make possible.

Until then, God bless you all, and, as they say in Ireland, slan!

The St. Dominic Teen Choir Ceol & Craic Tour bunch.