Final Jumbo Ireland Swimming & Diving Photo Gallery
Irish train and tour Bunratty Castle in final days of trip.
Jan. 14, 2005
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The Irish posing with the Connacht Swim Team, one of Ireland's four junior regional swimming clubs, which also was training at the University of Limerick.
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Head coach Tim Welsh took time to speak to the junior swimmers of the Connacht Swim Team while the Irish were in Limerick, stressing the many positive aspects of the sport.
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The swimmers received a visit from the University of Limerick's vice president of administration and facilities development, John O'Connor, who had visited Notre Dame previously, both to meet with president emeritus Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., and to tour the Rolfs Sports Recreation Center in preparation for building a similar facility.
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After being unable to train at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin, the Irish divers found a slightly-less-impressive facility to use at the University of Limerick.
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Notre Dame's divers playing around in their Limerick training facility, which they dubbed "The Aquarium": (left, from top) Chris Kane, Sam Stoner, and Scott Coyle; (middle) Tara Hyer and Steven Crowe; (right) Meghan Perry-Eaton and Mike Maggio.
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The master and the student: freshman Mike Maggio and diving coach Caiming Xie.
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Eoin, the team's bus driver and tour guide for the trip.
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Upon arriving at Bunratty Folk Park on Saturday, the Irish dined at Mac's Pub, eating Irish stew in front of a roaring fire.
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Downtown Limerick features this castle along the river that bisects the city.
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Sophomore Justin Barber looks to the horizon after ascending to the top of the 15-foot-high wooden-castle playground in Bunratty Folk Park.
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After lunch and some time in the reconstructed medieval village of Bunratty Folk Park, the Irish were ready to tour the castle.
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Athletic trainer Sal Vallejo and senior David Moisan exploring the dungeon of Bunratty Castle, hoping no one else ventures down there; the tour guide warned the Irish to go in only two at a time to avoid being stuck in the tight quarters.
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Junior Chris Barnes with the flag of Ireland on one of the turrets of Bunratty Castle.
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Freshmen Eric Swenson, Jay Vanden Berg, and Dean Fernandez, and sophomore David Hochstetler, as seen through one of the holes into the great hall of Bunratty Castle. Luckily for them, only a camera - instead of a bow and arrow - was aimed at the quartet through the hole.
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Junior Steve Shomberger and the view from the top of Bunratty Castle.
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Bunratty Castle overlooked some beautiful Irish countryside.
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Senior manager Jenny Scherer - a volunteer that fit the tour guide's requirements of promising not to strike him or sue him - touches Bunratty Castle's fertility stone, which has supposedly set her up to give birth to twins within the next year.
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The Irish surveying the massive Great Hall of Bunratty Castle.
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Junior Patrick Heffernan longing for the days of his youth when he had a lamb's wool blanket.
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The Irish, shown eating in the Kilmurry Lodge, became quickly accustomed to the tradition of tea and coffee after every meal.
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All photos by Bo Rottenborn.
