The Irish language, Gaeilge, is a big part of their culture that has been so neat to experience in my school placement. I can tell that Irish natives appreciate this language as it is a major part of their history and culture. Almost 1.9 million people claim that they have some ability to speak this language, but it is not spoken much in daily life. Most schools teach this in an effort to keep this part of their culture alive.

The people in Westport have a big appreciation for Grace O'Malley, or Gráinne O'Malley, who is a pirate queen. She was the head of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland. Every time I pass by the Westport House, I think of Grace O'Malley since this used to be one of her castles.

I have noticed in my month here that the Irish do not seem as materialistic as Americans. They don't seem to live as extravagantly, which I appreciate. When driving or walking around, I notice that homes look pretty similar to one another no matter where you are. Of course, there are some that are newer and seem more modern, but I hardly ever see any mansions or super luxurious things. They seem to just live life simply, which I like. 

The Irish Potato Famine occurred in the mid 19th century, but I still hear the Irish talking about this tragedy as it has shaped their country from then on. This caused about one million deaths and still affects the Irish today as hemochromatosis is an Irish genetic blood disorder that our host has. The Irish Potato Famine is said to be caused by England's long-running dominance over Ireland as they took ownership of large agricultural territories.

Croagh Patrick is a famous mountain in County Mayo that is very visible in Westport. The Irish consider this the holy mountain of Ireland because Saint Patrick is said to have fasted up on top of the mountain for 40 days.

Another part of the Irish culture that I have appreciated in my time here is their traditional music. We loved hearing different musicians singing and playing instruments to Irish songs at pubs or taverns during our time here. The Main Irish instruments are Flute, Fiddle, Tin Whistle, Low Whistle, Uilleann Pipes, Accordion, Concertina, Bodhrán and Harp, and some of the songs remind me of Bluegrass music since similar instruments are played. 

I have noticed that many people here use stronger adjectives than Americans use in everyday life. For example, in schools, I noticed that the teachers would say "Brilliant!" or "lovely!" to a students rather than just saying, "good job!" like most do in America. Some other words I have learned here is that "class" means "excellent" or "very good", so one might say, "Those new shoes are class." Also, the word "craic", which is pronounced as "crack", means "fun". For example, they would say something like, "that will be good craic!"