It hasn't quite hit me that I will be staying in this country for the next three months. I'm still not used to the American accents or seeing big flags wherever I go, but I suppose part of the J1 experience is learning to adapt. I'm still shy to speak loudly in case people notice I'm different or tell many people what my name is because it will be impossible for others to understand. I haven't explored much of the place yet but I wanted to document the journey from my little part of Ireland all the way to Bay Shore, NY.

I've tried to put off writing this post for a while because I wanted to save my 100th post for the day I set off on the biggest adventure of my life to date. More on that in future posts, so you'll have to wait longer I'm afraid. But then, I got thinking. 100 is a milestone for a lot of things in a sense. 100 years is a century, reaching 100 in age is phenomenal. This year, here in Ireland we celebrated 100 years since the 1916 Rising, an important part of Irish history. So to me, the number 100 is important, so 100 blog posts is a big deal. I also visited the Burren in Co Clare on the last day of my second year of college and to me that symbolises a lot so for that reason this post will be in two parts.

As some of you may know, I'm heading to America for three months in less than four weeks. The thought of it scares me and excites me in equal measure. Planning for this J1 has taken months, with a lot of uncertainty and worry involved. Would I get a job? Did I really want to leave Ireland? What if I couldn't handle the homesickness? Well I decided to push myself right out of my comfort zone and go ahead with it. I've decided to show you a rough guide of what I plan to bring with me and I hope it gives you some idea yourself of what to bring if you are going abroad for any length of time.

I've decided to separate the items into three sections; toiletries, clothes and bits and bobs. I know that this blog post is extremely female oriented, because naturally I'm speaking from a female perspective. Regardless, I am useless for knowing what to pack so I always make lists. If you want to share your holiday tips with me in the comment please do!

In less than two months I will be leaving Ireland for the better part of six months. From June to August I will be working in America, on a J1 visa. It's a huge step for me. I absolutely love Ireland, I can be quite shy. YET, I want to explore the world, meet new people, experience new cultures. I can freely admit I am obsessed with Instagram, documenting my life through photo. Capturing a photo before it's gone. I'm hoping I'll have tanned somewhat during those three months, but the likelihood is that I'll have erupted in freckles. After that, I'll be heading to Belgium for the first semester of college on my Erasmus. This means I'll be studying in a university in Ghent, Belgium. I've started to learn Dutch, but I'm not practicing it as frequently as I should, so whether or not it'll have any benefit to me is yet to be seen. It will be great to explore mainland Europe, The Netherlands is close by, Germany and France so who knows where I'll end up. 

An amazing achievement for Ireland. The 14th of January was a record day for the country. Ireland received nine nominations for the 88th Academy Awards, being held on the 28th of February. You might have wondered why I was raving so much on Twitter, Facebook and my blog's Facebook page. Nine nominations is phenomenal for such a small country and it's a record too. I was eating lunch in The Stables bar in the University of Limerick when the nominations were livestreamed from the US. The nominees are the following:




I have been waiting years for Saoirse Ronan to be recognised by the international film industry, the way she suddenly is now thanks to the Golden Globes and the Oscars. It is so well deserved. Michael Fassbender is punching above his weight with roles in films such as "Shame", "12 Years A Slave", "Macbeth" and "Steve Jobs". Lenny Abrahamson has been in my line of vision since I watched "Garage" for my Leaving Cert. Other excellent films he has worked on are "What Richard Did" and "Frank". So for him to be recognised for "Room", a film adapted from Emma Donoghue's novel of the same name is just fantastic. Emma Donoghue's excellent novel was adaptly perfectly by the author herself.

Irish directors, John Crowley and Lenny Abrahamson up for Oscars this year.

I think why I'm so happy is because Irish films I feel have a uniqueness to them, I say this with some bias but honestly if you watch even one or two of them you'll know what I mean. I grew up watching the likes of "The Field", "Into the West", "War of the Buttons", "Mickey Bo and Me", "Garage", "In America" and "The Wind That Shakes the Barley". All beautiful and unique films in their own right. Directors such as Jim Sheridan ("In America", "The Field", "In the Name of the Father", Gerard Barrett ("Glassland" and "Pilgrim Hill) Liam Cunningham, Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson and Brendan Gleeson, Jack Reynor, Ciarán Hinds, Sarah Bolger, Aidan Gillen, Andrew Scott and Robert Sheehan etc) There are so many more talented actors/actresses, not just those on screen, but on stage too. Not to be mention producers, cinematographers, those involved with sound, lighting, scriptwriting and costume design. All important components of a film.

Saoirse Ronan and Michael Fassbender

So I suppose this post is again me letting you know that I still am in love with Irish film, I always have been and always will be. I get a burst of  immsense pride when I see someone in the Irish film industry being recognised internationally. I talked about Cartoon Saloon last year, a Kilkenny based two time Oscar nominated animation studio. I am part of my university's filmmaking society, whose members are among the most passionate people I've ever met. I keep up with young filmmakers on Youtube and Twitter. As you can see I can rave about Irish film for a very long time.

Think of all the amazing films/tv shows that were partly filmed here. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Game of Thrones and Vikings are among some of them. I think the Irish Film Institute should try entice filmmakers to the country to make their films here. We do have the facilities. A new film studio is being built next to the University of Limerick and for that I am extremely excited. A new PhD has been introducted to UL, called New Media and Film. People are starting to produce really good amateur films, preferring quality over quantity. This way the industry is expanding and is enriching itself.

Ahch To, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. (Skellig Michael, Co Kerry)

Take a look here at all the film/tv projects ongoing in this country: in production.

The Irish are natural born storytellers, at times we tend to exaggerate but we are capable of weaving intricate scéals of times long ago. We still hear stories from our ancient past, the Tuatha de Danann, the Fianna and the legends that come with that. Oisín in Tír na nÓg, Gráinne Mhaol, The Salmon of Knowledge. My family tell me stories of the Troubles in the North of Ireland, my grandparents told me of the 1916 Rising and the part our families played in it. Some stories not worth of film but worth telling all the same.

When there is an Irish film in the cinema I beg you to go and see it, your money is going into Irish jobs, providing employment for Irish people. If these filmmakers have money they will continue to produce amazing films, based here in Ireland. It is a good thing to support your own. We really can compete with Hollywood, I feel. We just need the support of our own Irish people.

I won't say who I think will win at this year's Oscars. Regardless I think we all need to applaud those in our talented film industry. PLEASE I am encouraging you to create your own films. Challenge yourself. Write a script, shoot a short film, record your own music from a film or design costumes. I am longing for some new young filmmakers to support and follow. Could it be you? Once again I want to congratulate all the Irish nominees on their amazing achievements, we as a country really couldn't be prouder. And I hope this sort of standard in Irish filmmaking lasts. I really wish the best of luck to all of them.

Unfortunately I will not be attending Indiependence this year. I had been planning to go but a couple of things fell through. No matter though, as I decided to go on the hunt for bands that were playing there, to hear from them before they played the highly anticipated festival in Mitchelstown Co Cork.

In the past year alone Ireland has made monumental steps forward. Think the referendum in May, where Ireland became the first country in the WORLD to vote in Same Sex Marriage by popular vote. The world celebrated with us and it got me thinking. I began to think of what a modern Ireland meant to me. I haven't lived on this earth very long, I'm in my twentieth year of life, but I have seen so much change in my country. Positive change and it makes me very excited to be a young person in this country.

I remember the first time I came across Saoirse Ronan's work. I was fourteen years old and was on an aeroplane from Shannon, Ireland to the US. I was bored and started flicking through the in flight entertainment when I came across "The Lovely Bones". From then on, I kept up to date with Saoirse's work. A few weeks ago, which have felt like an eternity, let me tell you managed to get in contact with her PR and I didn't expect any response as I've tried before to no avail. However, I am so excited to tell you that Saoirse responded.

Here goes:

Some of the people I know that like my blog's Facebook page will not like this blog post. Simply because they may not like the artist I'm talking about or they will feel that it'll be uncool to like the artist I'm talking about. Nevertheless I'll continue.

For those who are new to the blog, I have a huge interest in film. I’m always checking Youtube.com for new film trailers, or watching old ones. I like to keep up to date with the films generating Oscar buzz and some of the more lesser known films. While on Youtube I found myself searching for film trailers..

Recently I came across a beautiful film trailer of an upcoming film. It’s called “Le Petit Prince”.Of course, there is an English language version being released, but the French version was the one I discovered first.I studied the language for six years and am by no means fluent, but I still enjoyed the trailer.This is the first animated feature film adaption of the novella and was shown at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

I was genuinely moved watching the trailer, especially during the scenes between The Little Prince and the fox.

Animation is something I absolutely adore, when done right it can be breathtaking. Some of my favourite films are animations. I did a blog post on Oscar nominated Irish film studio Cartoon SaloonThe animation in "Le Petit Prince" is lovely and what I really really like is that the animators are French and the work is not done by internationally famous animation studio “Dreamworks”.
I like when other animation studios get their big breaks. The film was animated by a small French-based studio called ON Entertainment. What is particularly notable is the animation of the little Prince and the fox. The story genuinely touched me and no doubt countless French children were brought up being read this novella.



The film is directed by Mark Osbourne, the director of "Kung Fu Panda". The film is done in an interesting way, the dream-like sequence of the story of the little prince is done in stop motion animation whereas the little girl's story is CG-animated. The two types of animation work together brilliantly in my opinion and I have to confess I prefer the stop motion animation sequences. Nonetheless, the film is beautiful.

The plot of the story goes as follows:

We meet The Little Girl, who's being prepared by her mother for the an adult world.
Then she meets The Aviator, her eccentric and kind neighbour who tells her his story, of how he met The Little Prince and the world from which The Little Prince came from. The Little Girl begins to learn how being a child is essential and that human connections are what really matters.


The film, not the first of its kind, is based on a novella first published in 1943 by French aristocrat, writer, poet and aviator Antoine de Saint- Exupéry.

I hope that it’s see the French language version here in Ireland as opposed to the English language version, because I think that because the film is based on a French book, it would be better to see it in French, with English subtitles.

The author himself illustrated the book and even the cover of the book is lovely. It features The Little Prince and the planet from which he came from.

Antoine de Saint- Exupéry's "Le Petit Prince" is said to be an "iconic masterpiece", many film adaptations have been made, but never an animated film, until now.

Co. Limerick has been my home from September to December of 2014. I'm living there because I go to college in the University of Limerick.  The last few months have been an eye-opener and I think that more than ever that you shouldn’t believe everything you read or hear. Especially when it comes to the Irish media's portrayal of Limerick.

I will put up my hand and say that because of living in Leinster and only ever hearing about Limerick through the news in a negative light, I wasn't expecting much. I was expecting a derelict and decaying city. Of course, some parts of it are, but that's the case with many cities here in Ireland.
However, I was not expecting to see as much cultural heritage and art.

There are so many murals dotted around the city.

First of all, Limerick is home to many art galleries and museums. I have visited the Hunt Museum and Limerick City Gallery of Art and I was more than impressed. One thing, in particular, I like about the art gallery is that it’s never the same each time you visit, new artwork is added, new exhibitions come and go and this keeps the place fresh and exciting. I never knew that Limerick was home to so many talented artists. During my time in Limerick I've gone out in the city so many times that I've lost count, visiting places such as Dolan's Warehouse, Crush 87, Mollie's, Charlie Chaplin’s and I've found that Limerick's nightlife is drastically improving. I'm well used to Limerick at night, I go out at least once a week, in college it is a rite of passage almost! Dolan’s Warehouse is a great place for musicians and also a great place to hold events such as DIE. I love rummaging through O' Mahoney's bookshop to find a good magazine or book. Or taking a trip with my friends to Moody Cow for delicious milkshakes. We have our priorities! I'm preparing to go back for my second semester in UL and I couldn't be more excited. The last six weeks of Christmas holidays have been slow, boring and almost torturous in a way. I never thought I’d say it.


My favourite place to walk in the city is by the Docks, be it late at night where the lights of the city reflect on the water or during the day where you can see hundreds upon hundreds of different birds flying around. The air is really fresh around that area and on more than one occasion I’ve walked along the docks while the sun has been setting. Let me tell you that the sight of the honey coloured sun’s rays reflecting on the rippling water is a gorgeous sight. If you lean against the railings of the docks and look to your left you can where the river Shannon begins to widen and it’s breathtaking. To your right, you can see King John’s Castle. I’ve yet to visit it but it’s on my bucket list for this semester. On Saturday there are markets in the city and if you root around you can find little gems, you just have to know where to look.

You can also find so many sculpture pieces, especially along the Docks

The people of Limerick have been given a mostly negative image by the national media. I feel outraged when I hear this now because I've come across nothing but kindness in Limerick. I remember going into a butcher's in Limerick completely lost and the workers there went out of their way to make sure I could find and get to where I wanted to go. Not to mention the banter I've had with people on my treks through the city.

Take for example the campaign that a young Limerick school girl has started to “Light Up Limerick’s Bridges”. The aim is to put messages of hope and support on all three bridges in Limerick with the hope that it will give support and solace to anyone who is struggling or suicidal. It’s things like this that make me proud of Limerick. There's even a petition related to the cause being signed and it is gaining signatures daily.

No one can say that I'm being biased. I'm an outsider, I'm from the opposite side of the country. But I can still use the hashtag, #Limerickandproud because I'm living in Limerick, and I am proud of it. I want the city and county to continue improving. I'm still so surprised by how much I've taken to the place. I never thought I'd get used to it, but I have and I'm starting to get a proper feel of the place.

The negativity was largely unjustified.

Of course, there's room to improve and I think that Limerick Co Council and the people of Limerick are more than motivated and capable of coming up with new ways to improve and expand Limerick's attractions. I just think that the negativity it’s gotten in recent weeks is completely undeserved and almost crushes the positive change that has been occurring for a while. People took to Twitter and started tweeting their support of their city and also included lovely photos of the many positive things
around the city and county. I even had my own say on the matter. Through this campaign, I've discovered even more sights that I had not previously heard about. I thought I had explored all of Limerick during the last few months but it turns out that I haven't and I'm looking forward to discovering other aspects of the city. I’m looking forward to living here for the next three and half years.

Thanks for reading and I can't wait to get back to UL and see all my friends.

This particular mural was striking.

This cheeky little bird kept watching my friends and I and tilting its head to the side.

Just one of the beautiful views along the Docks.

The three Musketeers.

We happened upon this mural by chance!

As you can see, I love the Limerick Docks.

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There will always be a place for you back home no matter how long you’ve been away.

As you all may or not know I have been in college nine weeks now, I'm settled in amazingly and everything is good to be honest! I just was thinking about how my home here in Kilkenny is a place I rarely can be found anymore.

While you end up missing college, being at home for a while even if only for a day has its perks. The bus journey home seems infinitely long. You look out the window, see endless lights, houses and unfamiliar roads for what seems like forever. Then slowly but surely you start recognizing places, even if it’s a roundabout, or the giant Tesco in Clonmel. Pointless yet significant at the same time, I start to perk up a little bit at the sight of them.

I always get a surge of happiness when we drive past the sign at the edge of Carrick on Suir which says “Welcome to Kilkenny”. I’m back where I belong, the county of black and amber, home of hurling contrary to what my Tipperary mother thinks. I’m still not used to seeing the Limerick flag everywhere. Home is constant even though I’m not constantly there anymore.

It’s usually dark by the time I arrive home on the bus, tired even though I’ve just been sitting on a bus for two and a half hours. I’ve lost count of how many buses I’ve taken since the start of the semester, all the trips have blurred into one. My dad always says he feels lonely the moment my twin and I leave the car to get on to the bus and I understand where he’s coming from. I’m making memories they’ll never be part of when I’m in Limerick and they are creating their own back home.

When I walk into the kitchen mother is waiting with a nice warm dinner ready for me. It feels like I’ve never left, my bedroom is still the same, everything is familiar yet it’s alien at the same time. My youngest sister will slouch up the corridor and try to slag me off but it’s lighthearted and it’s what we do to greet each other. I’ve found that since I moved away that my relationship with her has gotten better, we’ve stopped fighting about the silly, trivial things that siblings usually fight about, we sit around listening to music, she pretends that she isn’t interested in the stories I have about college but she’ll ask me anyway.

I’m sitting down writing this right now and I know that this time tomorrow I will be packed and ready to go back to Limerick. I love going back to college but it’s still strange to me that I spend more time away from home than at home in one week. I love going back, but I also hate the bus journey back up during the night, when all the street lights blur together in your vision and your legs are stiff from sitting in one position. Music is my companion for those two and a half hours.

This is my life now and I’ve come to appreciate the little things about home a whole lot more.