Trip to the Past

February 21, 2009

This week’s video took us back to a very exciting time for Dublin that took place forty-six years ago. This amazing experience, that many people claim to be the highlight of their teenage years, is the trip that the Beatles took to sing in Dublin. In 1963, the wonderful Beatles came to town and performed two concerts, one in Dublin and the other in Adelphi. Very many people remember this day very well. They could tell you who was standing next to them, what song the Beatles opened with, and the excitement in the air that night. Considering that the Beatles were so popular here in the United States as well, it doesn’t surprise me that this is the highlight for many women of their teenage years.

Some people described the Beatles as media savvy. This stood out to me very clearly. Since I have come to John Paul the Great Catholic University for media, it is very important that I can graduate from the school and have people look at me and say that I am a media savvy person. I think this is very important because technology in the media world right now is continuously changing. People have to think outside the box that they created when television first started to be broadcast. Hopefully, like the Beatles, in the world students from John Paul the Great Catholic University will be known as media savvy and hard workers.

Another thing that I noticed from watching the first part of the clip was the fun that the Beatles portrayed. They seem to have a great sense of humor and are enjoyable to watch. The Beatles gave people the inspiration to be a little different. Clearly, they succeeded in that because they now have a book about them called The Beatles Irish Concerts.

Ireland definitely cares about those around them. The Principal of Scoil Fhursa in Kilmore West is a boys school that educates around 270 young boys. This school had been very run down because the last time anyone painted the school was about ten years prior. However, after this school becoming to run down, parents, faculty, staff, and local communities came together to give the school a complete paint makeover. In the chapter that we read this week, Tom Inglis, in the book Global Ireland, describes how “villages are a bit like families.” This painting makeover definitely hits that point directly. Although everyone thought it was the craziest idea, they got the job done through the donations of places around them. Everything from the paint to the catering was donated in order to help these boys be able to focus better during their studies at this school. Not only did businesses and parents help out, but parish groups also donated their time. The boys at The Principal of Scoil Fhursa in Kilmore West are very lucky to have had this experience.

Finally, the last part of the video that we watched was about a taxi driver who was able to experience seeing people from all age groups come together and learn how to become chefs. Whether the reason behind was to go professional or just to entertain house guests, everyone who attended worked well with each other and helped the experience be an awesome learning experience. Similar to the way John Paul the Great Catholic University works, Lynda Booth, the founder, brings in professional chefs that the students are able to learn from and work with.