I arrived in Ireland yesterday morning and I am already in love with this city! After roughly 12 hours of travel, we dropped our bags off at StayCity and began exploring Dublin. I immediately noticed how normal it felt to be here, which was surprising as I had expected to feel more out of place. Overall ,the city felt fairly familiar to me after our tour guides showed us around.

Today began with breakfast at Chorus Cafe where I had a “fruity pancake” and a cup of coffee. The rest of our day consisted of two tours: one walking and one via bus which took us out to Howth, a small beach town off the coast. Our tour guides told us all about Ireland’s history beginning with the vikings and ending with the latest election results in Northern Ireland. Overall, Ireland’s history is centered around rebellion, faith and strength. Despite several set backs including the potato famine, neglect from the British monarchy and religious persecution, the Irish fought long and hard for their independence. While I knew a good deal about Ireland’s history, I gained a greater understanding of the major events and how they affected the Irish people, both then and now. 

It is very important to educate yourself on a country’s history before acting as a business consultant. Attaining a historical background is key to understanding a corporation’s goals, practices and purposes. Everyone’s past has an impact on their decisions and opinions, and the same goes for organizations. For example, knowing that Ireland experienced extreme hunger due to the potato famine, we can better understand the importance of solving world hunger for a company like FoodCloud. Having this historical context better prepares us as business students to connect with the Irish people.

Having learned so much about Ireland already, I am very excited to continue exploring this country! The most interesting thing I learned today was the meaning behind Ireland’s flag: green for Catholicism, orange for protestantism and white for peace between them.