Finishing any project brings with it great euphoria but also a great sense of emptiness as a void replaces the thoughts that were previously extremely focused. I still wake up most mornings, even a year later, with the sense of I must work on my PhD and it takes a moment to realise that this time has past. The six months after the viva left an incredible sense of loss without knowing what direction to take, and the options were overwhelming rather than exciting at the time. As time passed and I let the realisation of my achievement settle in I saw how exciting it all really was with so much potential of interesting places to go and jobs to take. By the time my graduation arrived on the 6th of June I was content that a path would make itself known to me in due course and so I settled back to enjoy the day that it was. I was so touched by all the people that came to share my day with me and who sent their thoughts from afar if they were not able to be there. Both Jo (all the way from Dubai for 4 days) and Don made it which made the day even more special.
Four days later I flew out to Vancouver to attend an interview for a post at UBC in the Department of Geography. As you are all aware I was successful, and leave Dublin on the 9th to start the next chapter on the west coast. This is very exciting and I still pinch myself with the realisation of it all - 73 applications later and here I am. Professionally and personally I have certainly fallen on my feet and very thankful for it all. The overwhelming excitement is also however accompanied by lots of reflection as I pack up five years and say goodbye to many.
I have always come and gone from Ireland over the years for my different educational endeavours and of course as it was a family base for most of the past 15 years. However, we have all moved on now as Dara and Jo embark on interesting adventures of their own, and the root of much of our tie to Ireland in a certain tiny but powerful May O'Brien no longer present. Many of the people I have come to be lucky enough to call my friends over the years in Ireland have also moved on with their lives whether it be to other parts of the world or simply to other parts of the country or indeed to other stages of their own lives. It is therefore starkly evident to me that my time here in Dublin and Ireland has come to an end in a very different way to years past where I left a room or a corner of the attic ready for my imminent return.
I therefore want to ponder for a moment if I may on my experiences, and what I take away from this Emerald Isle that for so many years offered me a home. The most powerful ingredient in all my thoughts are the people, both past and present. It is the people of the island that have kept me returning even when other factors pushed me away. Visitors always comment on how friendly Irish people are when they visit, many of us who come from abroad know that after an initial period this often does not stand. Having said that I count myself so very fortunate to have many wonderful Irish friends and many who have open their hearts and their homes to include me. It is this warm generosity which I will miss but will take with my in my heart. It is the the history of the country that I often criticize people for holding too tightly to, but which is so rich and wonderful. History does mold who we are but we must also move beyond its grip, and this I feel sad to say I cannot see happening around me in Ireland. A day may come, and I can only hope that it is within my lifetime where Irish people make not shackles of the past but embrace it and power forward driven by its force. The landscape is so tied to history in Ireland that it hard to separate the two, but the physical beauty of the island should be ingested in its full glory. I spent my last weekend driving around the roads of Mayo and Galway with Jo enjoying the wonders of Clare Island, Kylemore Abby, Clifden and Clonmacnoise, all wonderfully beautiful places which are also steeped in history. This beauty and history I also take with my in my heart as I know many other have done and will do in the future.
I thank Eire for all she has given me in terms of a great education (despite the upward struggle), wonderful people (even if they don't quite understand me), a place to come that somehow is always familiar (even if I am always asked where in the world I am from). In my own ongoing journey forming and reforming who I am I know that Ireland will always be an intricate part of the foundations of this journey and for this I am in her debt.
Four days later I flew out to Vancouver to attend an interview for a post at UBC in the Department of Geography. As you are all aware I was successful, and leave Dublin on the 9th to start the next chapter on the west coast. This is very exciting and I still pinch myself with the realisation of it all - 73 applications later and here I am. Professionally and personally I have certainly fallen on my feet and very thankful for it all. The overwhelming excitement is also however accompanied by lots of reflection as I pack up five years and say goodbye to many.
I have always come and gone from Ireland over the years for my different educational endeavours and of course as it was a family base for most of the past 15 years. However, we have all moved on now as Dara and Jo embark on interesting adventures of their own, and the root of much of our tie to Ireland in a certain tiny but powerful May O'Brien no longer present. Many of the people I have come to be lucky enough to call my friends over the years in Ireland have also moved on with their lives whether it be to other parts of the world or simply to other parts of the country or indeed to other stages of their own lives. It is therefore starkly evident to me that my time here in Dublin and Ireland has come to an end in a very different way to years past where I left a room or a corner of the attic ready for my imminent return.
I therefore want to ponder for a moment if I may on my experiences, and what I take away from this Emerald Isle that for so many years offered me a home. The most powerful ingredient in all my thoughts are the people, both past and present. It is the people of the island that have kept me returning even when other factors pushed me away. Visitors always comment on how friendly Irish people are when they visit, many of us who come from abroad know that after an initial period this often does not stand. Having said that I count myself so very fortunate to have many wonderful Irish friends and many who have open their hearts and their homes to include me. It is this warm generosity which I will miss but will take with my in my heart. It is the the history of the country that I often criticize people for holding too tightly to, but which is so rich and wonderful. History does mold who we are but we must also move beyond its grip, and this I feel sad to say I cannot see happening around me in Ireland. A day may come, and I can only hope that it is within my lifetime where Irish people make not shackles of the past but embrace it and power forward driven by its force. The landscape is so tied to history in Ireland that it hard to separate the two, but the physical beauty of the island should be ingested in its full glory. I spent my last weekend driving around the roads of Mayo and Galway with Jo enjoying the wonders of Clare Island, Kylemore Abby, Clifden and Clonmacnoise, all wonderfully beautiful places which are also steeped in history. This beauty and history I also take with my in my heart as I know many other have done and will do in the future.
I thank Eire for all she has given me in terms of a great education (despite the upward struggle), wonderful people (even if they don't quite understand me), a place to come that somehow is always familiar (even if I am always asked where in the world I am from). In my own ongoing journey forming and reforming who I am I know that Ireland will always be an intricate part of the foundations of this journey and for this I am in her debt.
