MEADVILLE, Pa.—The Allegheny College women's basketball team has embarked on a foreign tour of Ireland, leaving for the trip yesterday (Sunday, May 12).

The Gators will spend 10 days in Ireland. In those 10 days, the Gators will play games against Glanmire Basketball Club, Irish U20 and Liffey Celtics Basketball.

In addition to the three games, the Gators will also visit some of the trademark Irish attractions such as the Cliffs of Moher, the Blarney Castle and the Rock of Cashel.

If you wish to follow the team's journey across the pond, the Gators will be hosting a blog right here on AlleghenyGators.com, featuring input by rising senior Zoe Soilis (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) and rising juniors Julianna Skowron (Sewickley, Pa./Oakland Catholic) and Rylee Donovan (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler).


Day 1 (Monday, May 13) - Lahinch/Cliffs of Moher (Soilis)
After two crazy plane rides we finally made it to Ireland!! As soon as we got off the plane we got onto a bus to see the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs are honestly one of the most incredible places I have ever been. None of the pictures will ever do it justice! There are so many breathtaking views! After the Cliffs, we settled into our hotel in Lahinch, Ireland. Lahinch is a quaint little town. I liked it a lot because it was picturesque but also not crowded at all. I like to see the locals around. After dinner, we walked around the strand of the beach for great sunset photos. Today was a great first day in Ireland and I can't wait to see all the memories we'll make on the rest of the trip!


Day 2 (Tuesday, May 14) - Cork/Blarney Castle (Skowron)
Welcome back Gator sports fans! We just finished our second day in Ireland, and today we explored Cork and visited the Blarney Castle. While we were experiencing Cork we checked out the English Marketplace and took a walking tour of the city. The city is unlike any city I've been to before and I really enjoyed the experience! After the tour we checked into our hotel for the next 2 nights then we headed off to the Blarney Castle. At the castle we climbed to the top and kissed the Blarney Stone! That experience was super cool and it's said that kissing the stone is lucky! For the rest of the night we ate dinner and continued to explore Cork.


Day 3 (Wednesday, May 15) - Cobh/Spike Island/Game 1 vs Glanmire Basketball Club (Donovan)
What a day, jam packed with fun activities in Cork. First we took a ferry to Spike Island and toured the facilities. We learned about the Fort Mitchell, which turned into Ireland's largest prison. We got some lunch in Cobh and headed to the Titanic Museum. We discovered that the Titanic made its last stop in Cobh before it sank. We headed back to Cork and went to our first game, playing Galamiere Basketball Club. Despite the loss, it was a hard fought game and we had a lot of fun. We talked and hung out with some of the girls on the other team and learned about their culture. 10/10 great day!


Day 4 (Thursday, May 16) - Rock of Cashel/Dublin (Soilis)
Today we left Cork and on our way to Dublin we stopped at the Rock of Cashel. The Rock of Cashel was so pretty it looked almost like a castle up on a hill. It was used as a fort and also church where St. Patrick came through to convert the people of Ireland to Catholicism. The rock was full of history! After visiting Cashel, we made our way to Dublin. After checking into the Ripley Court Hotel, most of us went downtown to kayak through the River Liffey. Kayaking was an interesting experience; it was fun to learn a little bit of history about the city, but some of us struggled paddling. Overall it was a good experience! Can't wait to explore more of the city tomorrow and play another team!

Day 5 (Friday, May 17) - Dublin/ Game 2 vs Irish U20 selection (Skowron)
What's up Gates! Today we went on a bike tour of Dublin and learned a lot of history about the city. We saw St. Patrick's Cathedral and Love Lane which was really cool to see. After the bike tour, we had free time to explore Dublin and got some lunch and went shopping in the city. After that we had our second game, this time we played the Irish U20 selection. They were a good team and we fought hard against them. Unfortunately, we lost but it was a fun time meeting the players and experiencing their energetic crowd. After the game we went to the Temple Bar area and got dinner and hung out for the rest of the night. Can't wait to have another super fun day tomorrow!

Day 6 (Saturday, May 18) - Dublin/Gaelic Games/Guinness (Donovan)
Today we had another fun day in Dublin! We started off the day by heading to, "Experience Gaelic Games," and learned how to play the well-known games of Ireland. We played handball, hurling, and rugby. It was awesome to get to learn the rules of the game and we had a lot of fun actually playing the games.  Learning how to play hurling should help us tomorrow when we head to the hurling match between Dublin and Wexford! After that, the team went to a tour of the Guinness factory. We made our way up the 5 floors of the factory, learning how the beer is made, what it tastes like, and their advertising strategies. Some of us even got our faces scanned on the foam of a pint of Guinness! And of course we had to make our way to the gift shop to pick up a few things to take home. Overall, it was a really cool day that the team really enjoyed.

Day 7 (Sunday, May 19) - Gaelic Game Match/Traditional Irish show of Music & Dance (Soilis)
This morning we had a free morning around Dublin. Some of us stayed nearby to shop. Rylee, Jules, my mom, and I went to church at Christ Church Cathedral. The cathedral was very old and very unique. After church, we went to see Dublin v. Wexford for a hurling match!! The match was so cool! They played a lot better than we did. It was really fun to be in with mostly locals.  The match was super exciting and Dublin was down by 3 with almost no time remaining and at the very end they scored a goal (worth 3 points) to tie it! There was no overtime so they have to play again!! After the game we went to a traditional Irish show of music and dance. It was very neat, they got the crowd into it and made it interactive! The Irish dancers were very good! Tully and Shannon went up on stage and learned how to do the Irish dance! Overall, it was a really cool experience to see the Irish music and dancing!

Day 8 (Monday, May 20) - Dublin/Game 3 vs Liffey Celtics Basketball (Skowron)
Today was our last day in Ireland and we started the morning with a scavenger hunt. It was super fun we were all running around Grafton street trying to figure out the clues and riddles. After that we had a free afternoon to shop, get lunch, and hang around the city. At 5 o'clock we departed for our last basketball game of the trip. Unfortunately, we lost again, but it was still exciting to play another team from Ireland. After the game we had a team dinner with with everyone on the trip and had a good last night! I had the best time with my teammates on this trip and we made memories that will last a lifetime.