An ‘Irish goodbye’ is a colloquial term for ghosting, or leaving a gathering without saying goodbye. Putney didn’t do this; instead, we celebrated our final day in country by giving students time to put finishing touches on their final reading selections, to finally source gifts for those back home, and to sample a last smattering of Irish treats–including, though there isn’t any visual evidence, ice cream from Murphy’s off Grafton, which is the only place we’ve ever seen sweet brown bread as a flavor.
On our last evening, we returned to the scene of orientation: the Irish Writers Centre reading room, where students shared their new work in progress. We didn’t know what was more impressive: the writing they’d only begun since arriving in Dublin, or the generous, intentional introductions they composed for one another. Our guest writer Megan Mayhew Bergman delivered inspiring final remarks, encouraging each student to honor the value inherent to artistic work.
Megan’s closing remarks.
Writers at final reading.
Finally, we celebrated at the Winding Stair, one of Dublin’s most charming bookstore / restaurants. As lovely as it was to have a treehouse view of the Liffey as it gradually got dark, we can’t stress how good this view (below) was for the duration of our trip. Happy, content faces. We are so grateful to have been in the company of this spunky, talented, and fiercely cohesive group.
Writers at their most dapper.
Our final meal.
One last look up North Great George.
Your faithful co-leaders, signing off.
Slán, Ireland!
– Veronica & Patrick