Ireland - Final Blog

Ireland is a country of many wonders; it gave us Leprechauns and St. Patrick's Day. It's home to the greenest hills in the world and some of the world's oldest whiskey. The Blarney Stone, Guinness Beer and U2 call it home. James Joyce and Oscar Wilde were part of its great literary class. It is a country of relatively few that has spread throughout the world due to its great misfortunes, such as the potato famine.

Ireland has always been a little behind the times. It could be due to the fact that they have been living in Great Britain's shadow for the majority of their existence; it could be due to the reputation of "drink first, ask questions later." Whatever the reason is, Ireland is a step slow when it comes to change. Technology was and is no different. Even now Internet speeds are considerably slower than the rest of Europe and even below average as it pertains to the rest of the globe. Netindex.com shows internet speed over the past 30 days, and while the world average is 8.71 Mbps, Ireland comes in at only 6.12 Mbps. This is a microcosm of all things technology related in Ireland. There are still large parts of the countryside that rely on dial-up internet.

I have learned a lot about this country, home to my ancestors, and the most enjoyable and pleasing thing that I learned was that the Irish attitude towards life is to not take it too seriously. They work, they play, they drink, they laugh...and at the end of the day they enjoy what they have. I think a lot can be learned from this country and their overall attitude towards life.

"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you
In the palm of his hand."