Today we had a day-trip to rural Ireland, and we stopped at Kilkenny, Wicklow Mountains National Park, and a Sheep farm. It was our first day seeing the country side of Ireland and it was very fascinating to see how the community contrasts from a fast growing city like Dublin.

Our first stop was Kilkenny, which is a suburb of Dublin. This quick stop included visiting the Kilkenny Castle, Fish and Chips, and the St. Canice’s Cathedral with a beautiful view from the top of the Round Tower (featured photo on blog). The community was very similar to Dublin but there were less foreigners in Kilkenny, it more authentic and less touristy, there is a larger acceptance of foreigners in Dublin than in rural Ireland. The community in Wicklow Country, the park and sheep farm, is vastly different from urban Ireland. There is a much more relaxed lifestyle, people are only worried about raising their cattle, training their dogs to herd, and growing their crops. The local perception of foreigners is not the same in rural Ireland, families work together on farms and would be suspicious of foreigners approached them.

There are industries represented in rural Ireland that you cannot see in the city such as sheep herding. Today we were able to watch the border collie in the picture above herd sheep by verbal commands by his Shepard such as “walk up” – approach the herd, “to me” – push the herd toward the Shepard, “away to me” move the herd right, and “come by” – move the herd to the left. This lifestyle is also very different from Dublin because it is not entrepreneurial. There is no innovation, they are living an established lifestyle that has been passed through generations.

No doubt, today was my favorite day of the trip, here are some of the sights I was today…