BRYN MAWR, PA - On Monday, May 19, Bryn Mawr field hockey made program history by departing on their first-ever international trip. The team is spending a week in Ireland for a training trip that includes practices, competitive matches, cultural excursions, and team-building adventures.
Follow along for updates as the Owls explore Ireland and represent Bryn Mawr abroad!
May 20, 2025 - Arriving in Ireland: Talons Out Against Jet Lag
We arrived in Dublin today at 6:00AM! Once we landed, we were happily reunited with
Maggie Barilla, our teammate who had been abroad all spring semester. Then we quickly hopped onto the coach bus to begin our journey to Belfast, in Northern Ireland.
The drive up was beautiful, and while some people were snoring, others were snapping shots of the scenery around. Once we arrived in Belfast, we parked the coach bus behind the Titanic Museum. We walked by where the Titanic was originally built (crazy!). We were given some time to explore Belfast, and I had my eyes set on thrifting. I ended my shopping spree with a decent haul of four items and £55 less. There was a lot of picture taking, walking, and relearning when to cross the street. It was amazing being in the city.
After seeing Belfast, we hopped on the bus and set our sights on the hotel in Armagh. The bus ride was a battle to try and stay awake; most people lost. After dropping our luggage in our rooms, a group and I explored the small town of Armagh. We hiked around the city and visited two of the local churches (full of stunning art), and went to the local grocery store for some snacks. Then we grabbed a team dinner at the hotel and headed to bed.
While we all look forward to our heads hitting the pillow tonight, I know we can't wait for all the adventures, experiences, and field hockey yet to come in the rest of the week! -
Charlene Basque '26
May 21, 2025
What an action packed day for our first full day in Northern Ireland! We started the day off strong with hotel breakfast at 8am! I ate my traditional Northern Irish breakfast of beans and toast with my teammate and roommate Delia! Then we were off right at 9am! Our first destination was Portstewart, a small seaside town in Northern Ireland. The drive up was scenically beautiful as every drive has been so far. Still, a lot of us fell victim to jet lag (me included) and napped on the way there. Some of us got a head start on braiding our hair because we knew we'd be traveling straight to our first game after stopping at Portstewart and eventually
Giant's Causeway.
Portstewart was a charming town with gorgeous views! We admired the coast connecting to the northern Atlantic Ocean and some of us even climbed along the rocks. Natasha, one of the environmental studies majors of the team, explained the various flora and fauna we encountered among the rocks of the coast including anemones, snails, barnacles, and various types of seaweed. We explored the town and grabbed a quick lunch. I ate a delicious chili chicken panini and a mango smoothie and hopped back onto the bus. Â
We traveled yet another scenic route, this time with the destination of Giant's Causeway located in County Antrim. We admired the scenery from the window of the bus while also taking two brief picture stops. I have almost 400 photos from the two days we've been here, so we'll see if my storage holds up for the rest of the trip… The first stop was located a little bit past a really cool cliff with Irish mythology's giant, Finn McCool's face carved into it. More about him in a bit! For any Game of Thrones fans (including our very own Rachel O.), the second stop overlooked Dunluce Castle which was used as a filming location for Game of Thrones. For any golf fans out there, we also passed the club in Antrim where the British Open will be held this coming July. What a bus ride!
Arriving at Giant's Causeway, we hiked along the scenic North Coast and listened to an audio tour explaining the history of Giant's Causeway. According to Irish mythology, the ancient basalt columns are remains of a causeway or path built by the giant, Finn McCool, when he was challenged to a fight by Benandonner, the Scottish giant. The views were truly otherworldly!
After I spent arguably too many pounds at the gift shop, we boarded the bus to Portadown Hockey Club. The jet lag got to me on the longest bus ride yet and I slept for almost the entire time. Feeling recharged from my long nap, we arrived at Portadown HC's field for our first match of the trip! We quickly got changed and headed straight out to the field to warm up. Right before the match began, it was an honor to be escorted onto the field by Kyle Savage, the deputy lord mayor who represents the residents of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough. We exchanged gifts with the players and coaches of Portadown HC and then we played our match. It was amazing to be back on the field with the team! After 70 minutes of fun, high quality hockey on a sand-dressed field, we stretched then headed to Portadown HC's clubhouse for dinner. It was lovely to be able to talk with some of the players while eating delicious homemade food. I might have to travel back to the clubhouse solely for their brownie and ice cream dessert served with fresh cream! We are so grateful for a great match and the hospitality of the club. A huge thank you to Portadown HC for a wonderful experience!
For our final bus ride, we traveled back to our hotel in Armagh, satisfied with our exhilarating day. As I showered, wrote this recap, and got ready to head straight to bed after an exciting yet exhausting day, I couldn't be more excited for the adventures still ahead! Thanks for tuning in and make sure to follow along with us for the rest of the week! - Sophie Chung '27
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May 22nd, 2025-Â The Troubles, Teamwork, and a Taste of TraditionÂ
Good morning from our last day in Northern Ireland! We were fortunate enough to wake up with beautiful 60-degree weather (15 celsius as we've been practicing abroad). After a very sore walk down to breakfast with my hotel roommate Sophie, we ate our second straight breakfast of beans on toast and tea (I think we are getting a hang of this traditional Northern Irish meal).Â
Starting our day, we drove the bus from our hotel in Armagh to Belfast to go on a Black Cab Tour of the Northern Irish conflict known as The Troubles between the Protestant unionists (loyalists) and Catholic nationalists (republicans). The 30-year conflict ended in 1998 with a peace treaty known as the Good Friday Agreement. Knowing we were going on this tour, I picked up an audiobook on the Troubles that I listened to on the plane to Dublin. While the book (
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe) prepared me for the historical side of the Troubles, nothing could have prepared me for how moving the tour would be. Even though it has been 27 years since the end of the Troubles, the impact of the fighting and subsequent neighborhood segregation in Belfast is still prevalent today as walls divide the city between predominantly Catholic and predominantly Protestant areas..Â
The team broke off into five separate cabs that stopped four times at various murals throughout Belfast.
We were able to hear from multiple drivers hailing from both Protestant and Catholic sides of the conflict about their personal and historical accounts of the times. We were originally picked up in Belfast city center which is a neutral area with regulations in place limiting the flying of flags. However, for our first stop, we were greeted with houses lined with the Union Jack, an indicator we had entered the Unionist area of Belfast. The first driver, a Protestant gentleman, expanded our knowledge of the Troubles and corrected the misconception that the conflict was just based on religion. He continued about how it was about the Ulster Protestant unionists wanting to remain a part of the UK, while the Irish Catholic nationalists wanted a united Ireland and better civil rights as they faced housing, employment and voter discrimination. The driver then escorted us to a mural commemorating and urging viewers to "remember with pride," Ulster commander Stevie "Top Gun" McKeag and fellow unionist military group members from the Ulster Defense Association, Ulster Freedom Fighters and the junior wing, the Ulster Young Militants.Â
For our second stop we stayed on the Protestant side to visit the Peace Walls. The driver I was with, Joseph, mentioned how he grew up just across the wall on the Catholic side. After getting out of the cab to walk up to the walls, I was taken aback with how large they were! Stretching for over 20 miles, the walls were erected to mitigate violence from tensions on both sides. The wall we stopped at on Cupar Way was 45 feet tall! The Peace walls highlight the Troubles' legacy and continue to divide communities with some gates dividing the walls closing at 7 pm and not opening again until 6:30 am. The wall was covered in graffiti and names and messages from people around the world. The driver let us know that figures such as Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama had signed the very wall we were looking at. Without missing a beat, all the drivers gave us each markers to sign our own names. Unable to think of anything profound on the spot, I opted to just put down my name.Â
Our third and fourth stops were both on the Catholic side of the Peace walls. We did not need to be told we had entered the Catholic side with Union Jack pennants replaced with Irish Tricolor flags. The third installation was located on the side of a house that read "Clonard Remembers August 1969." The third driver explained how 1,500 Catholic families were forced out of their homes and 13 streets of homes were burned and attacked by Protestant mobs. Accompanying the memorial was a poem titled "The Chronicles of a People" Â with this powerful ending: "When pain and years of suffering is just reserved for some. The one we leave behind us will not escape the gun."
The last stop of the tour was just across a police-manned gate separating the two walled communities. Again on the predominantly Catholic side, it was my driver Joseph's turn to speak to the group. Joseph ushered us to view the political murals in front of us that included Nelson Mandela, Frederick Douglass, Angela Davis, calls for a Free Palestine, and a huge tribute to Bobby Sands, the Catholic hunger striker whose death in prison rallied international attention to the republican cause. Joseph then let us know that it was his very own brother who had painted these murals, Belfast artist Marty Lyons! Joseph recounted stories of his childhood and having to shout down the street to his brother painting in pitch black that the police were coming.
The tour was rich with stories from both sides underscoring how a Northern Irish generation was raised with the conflict and violence of the troubles. All the drivers remind
ed us that as the younger generations grow up, they are becoming more and more tolerant of each other and this tour is a testament to people's ability to come together to tell their stories.Â
After the Black Cap tour my team and I stayed in Belfast and I snagged a vegetarian sausage lunch with champ (which I learned was a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with spring onions, butter, and milk) and now I never want to go back to normal mashed potatoes ever again. After lunch we drove a short way to the Cave Hill Country Park to visit Belfast Castle. We walked around the gardens, said to have good fortune as long as a castle cat is kept on the grounds. While we didn't see a real cat while we were there, the Castle has a stone kitty perched on the fountain as well as paving sculptures paying further tribute to the feline friend.Â
Our last stop before the field hockey for the day was a quick visit to the Rose Garden of Queens University of Belfast. Getting down
on our knees to sniff the flowers, it provided the team the perfect photo opportunity coupled with amazing rain-less Irish weather. My favorite flower was named the "blue for you rose" which I thought to be silly since it seemed incontestably purple.
After ending our day in Belfast, we headed back to the Portadown Hockey Club, this time for a pro-coaching session with Beth Harper, Serena Campuzano, and Katie Herron from the senior Irish National team. The three of them had come out to watch us play the day before and were able to tailor the practice directly to Bryn Mawr's needs! They led the team through an hour and a half of high intensity training beginning with technical stick, small space attacking and defending, and ending with a transition game over 75 yards. We were so lucky to be trained by this group of coaches and all walked away from the experience having learned something new and better students of the game. After the practice we said goodbye to the Portadown Hockey Club and headed to dinner.Â
We ended the night walking to our team dinner at a pizza restaurant near our hotel in Armagh (get those legs moving before our drive to Dublin tomorrow). Dinner finished off with yummy desserts because I believe sweets are good for the soul. Between the chatter of the restaurant during dinner, Simon and Garfunkle's America started playing in the background. The repeated line "Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces" perfectly describes the fun we have been having on this trip. The hours we spend on the bus traveling through the country fly by with our laughter and time spent with each other.Â
If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me! If you know me then you know that succinct is not exactly in my vocabulary. I am grateful for how much I had to write today and the opportunities we have both on and off the field while on this trip. Check back in tomorrow for our adventures in Dublin! -
Delia Angulo Chen
'27
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May 23rd, 2025
Good morning! We woke up around 7 am to get one last breakfast in our hotel in Armagh. I have loved my Northern Irish breakfast, especially the beans, eggs, and toast! After checking out, we left Armagh and Northern Ireland behind as we headed south, back into Ireland. I am sure the views along the way were just as pretty as they were on our first day, but I wouldn't know – I took a much-needed nap on the bus. When I woke up, we had arrived at our next activity: an experience of the Gaelic Games.
We played three Gaelic games in total: hurling, Gaelic Football, and Gaelic Handball. Before we started, we were introduced to the rules and history of each sport. Although the playing of Gaelic games was once suppressed and restricted under British rule, hurling and Gaelic Football are now the most played and watched sports in Ireland. The founding of the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) in 1884 played a crucial part in its revival and protection, which is why it was even more exciting that we got to play these three games at a local GAA club in the heart of Ireland.
We started with hurling, my favorite Gaelic game of the day. Hurling has been played for over 3000 years (!) and is considered the world's fastest game on grass, with balls flying with speeds of around 110 mph. Hurling is a stick and ball game where players aim to score by hitting the ball into the net or over the crossbar. It is hard to describe how exciting it really is. So, I highly recommend watching a video to see it in action.
Next, we played Gaelic football. In this sport, players can move the ball up the field by kicking, hand-passing, or bouncing. Like in hurling, points are scored by kicking or punching the ball into the net or over the crossbar. This game was also a lot of fun!
Finally, we played Gaelic handball, which is a ball-and-wall sport where players use their hands to hit the ball against a wall in a way that makes it difficult for the opponent to return it. We competed against one another, leading up to a grand finale: Chuck (Charlene) versus coach Victor. After a thrilling game, Chuck came out as the final winner! We had an exciting morning thanks to the GAA club with a wonderful experience and a lovely lunch.
Afterwards, we headed to our hotel in Dublin. We had two hours to set ourselves up in our new rooms and rest for a little bit. To give ourselves an additional little boost, my roommate Noor and I got a coffee from the hotel lobby. Since we were officially back in the European Union, we got to pay in euros again, which was a very fun moment for us Dutchies. Coffees in hand, we made our way over to Corinthians HC for our second match of the trip. After playing 70 minutes of high-intensity field hockey, we exchanged our gifts to the opposing players.
Then, we joined the Corinthians for dinner. We had so much fun connecting with the Irish players and learning more about their culture and overall field hockey experience. Finally, we headed back to the hotel. I showered, got ready for bed, and took a moment to reflect on the day and write this blog. I can't wait for all the fun activities and field hockey still to come! Thanks for following along with our blog and check in again tomorrow to hear more about our experiences in Dublin! -
Annick van Blerkom '26
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May 24th, 2025
We had an early start to the day with our first breakfast at the hotel in Dublin! Not long after, we headed to the Medieval Dublin castle where we explored a bit before meeting up with our tour guide, Ian, for the walking tour of Dublin. He started off with teaching us about Dublin's Viking history and we even got to see the outline of a real Viking residence in the ground! Something really interesting we learned is the origin of the Irish flag — the green stripe on the flag represents the Catholics, the orange stripe represents the Protestants and the white represents peace between them. Other notable places we passed by included St Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, Temple Bar, Ha'penny bridge, Icon Wall, Trinity College, and Grafton Street. It was so interesting to learn more about the historical background of the city and what it used to be like!
Before heading to our next activity of the day, we grabbed some lunch on Grafton Street, Ireland's most popular shopping district, and then headed to our Irish dancing class in the pub of Merchants Arch! We listened to authentic Irish folk music performed by the one and only Gary who was accompanied by two amazing Irish dancers who taught us three routines. Unfortunately, we were not on their level yet but we tried our best and had so much fun!Â
We had the rest of the afternoon free so we split up and explored different parts of the city.Â
Lucie's afternoon: I spent the majority of the afternoon exploring the EPIC museum, the Irish immigration museum. We went through twenty rooms, each explaining a different part of the history and immigration of Ireland. I rewarded myself for learning something new in each room by stamping my EPIC passport along the way. One of the more interesting facts I learned was that there are more people of Irish descent living outside of Ireland than inside the country itself. We were even able to dress up as some of the historical figures we were learning about! After the museum, we walked to Temple Bar, the cultural capital and most expensive area of Dublin, to buy souvenirs for our friends and family and ate dinner at Dada. Finally, we walked to get gelato at Cloud Nine for a little treat, where I was also able to meet up with one of my hometown friends studying abroad.Â
Leya's afternoon: After doing some more exploring of Grafton street and of course some shopping, we stopped for a quick donut snack break at a small café. The Royal College of Surgeons, the university my grandparents studied at, Â was really nearby so we walked there
so that I could see it which was really cool! We did some more walking around before dinner where we had some amazing chicken wings and burgers! We had some time before we had to be back at the bus so we walked through Temple Bar where we met (for €5) a real life leprechaun! Of course, we could not go without a sweet treat for the night so we stopped for some gelato and a hot chocolate at a small cafe in Temple Bar before heading back to meet up with the rest of the team.
After a long day of exploring Dublin, we hopped back on the bus to head back to the hotel. To end a typical Irish rainy
day we saw a rainbow! Unfortunately we did not find the pot of gold, but we are hopeful tomorrow will bring more treasures. Follow along to find out! -
Leya Patel '28 and
Lucie Burgess '28
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May 25th, 2025
Hello from our last full day in Ireland! We started our morning with the chance to sleep in (yay!) before enjoying our last traditional Irish breakfast together in the hotel. After eating, we transferred to Dalkey, a local beach town on the Southeast coast. We walked down towards the harbor and admired the gorgeous view of Dublin Bay. The town itself was super cute and had a lot of little shops and restaurants.Â
After taking many pictures, a group of players and I found ourselves at the Dun Laoghaire Market. There were a lot of different little pop up shops ranging from jewelry to food options. I bought some clover earrings from one of the shops to commemorate the trip. And celebrate my Irish heritage of course! I also bought different soaps from Common Scents, another shop, for my family as gifts. Lucie, Rachel D., and I also indulged in gourmet cookies from an amazing pop up at the market. We love a sweet treat at any time of the day!Â
We also got the chance to explore the town for a bit. There were lots of cute shops on George Street. I stopped into a few thrift stores and jewelry stores with some teammates. We also found lunch on George Street at Poulet Bonne Femme. I had a delicious chicken classic sandwich. So delicious, in fact, that when we sat down to eat in a park, one of the local birds decided to fly at me and take a bite for itself. We then transferred back to our hotel to rest for an hour before a field hockey packed afternoon.Â
We had yet another beautiful drive back to the field. I have really loved seeing all of the houses and home gardens while traveling here. At the field, we had our second and final Pro Coaching session with Ross Willis, a performance analyst for the Irish Men's National Team at the 2024 Olympics. We started with some technical work and then moved into how to attack in different zones of the field. The forwards and goalkeepers worked with a different coach, Matt, on a goal scoring drill. I know that I really enjoyed working with Ross and Matt, and it was truly an amazing opportunity.Â
After the session, we had a very rainy game against the Irish All-Star u20 University Team. It was the perfect chance to implement what we had learned in the Pro Coaching session to actual gameplay. The game was competitive, fast-paced, and very rainy. However, with the rain came a gorgeous rainbow over the field! Very Irish, very Bryn Mawr. After the game, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and get ready for our last dinner.Â
Dinner was at the Church Restaurant in Dublin. The restaurant is located in St Mary's Church, the oldest church in Dublin. It was founded in 1697 and finished in 1702. Church turned restaurant and bar, there was live music and Irish dancing along with our meal. We did not join in on the dancing this time. For my dinner, I had butternut squash soup for my appetizer, pecorino gnocchi as my main, and a peanut butter and chocolate brownie. Everything was absolutely amazing in both flavor and appearance.Â
As I am writing this, I am on the last bus ride back to the hotel. This trip has been such an amazing experience. I have had so much fun immersing myself in Irish culture and having the opportunity to play hockey overseas. A huge thank you to all that made this trip possible. Cheers from our last day in Ireland! -
Addison Graupensperger '28
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