Kimball Area Travel Club arrived safely in Dublin, Ireland on June 16. Led by Kimball Area High School’s Agriculture teacher, Michaela Gallup, five students including Zac Amic, Lindsey Gebhardt, Erin Helgeson, Brooklyn Ochsendorf and Roslyn Stang, along with chaperones Rhonda Dobberstein and Celest Stang, enjoyed the Malahide Castle and gardens in Dublin, shopping and walking on the historic Grafton Street, and strolling through the St. Stephen's Park in the heart of the city.
A trip to Trinity College, where the renowned "Book of Kells" is located, was a highlight as well. The group enjoyed dinner with a famous local dish called bangers and mash, which included sausage and homegrown mashed potatoes. The first evening in Ireland was capped off with a divine dessert, pavlova.
Day 2 in Ireland was "epic" for the Kimball Area Travel Club members. The group made a stop in the Phoenix Park first thing on June 17. The park is 1,752 acres and has been open to the public since 1660. Locals can be seen playing Cricket and Polo on the grounds. Dublin Zoo exists within the park, which is the 3rd oldest zoo in the world.
A special stop was made at the large cross which stands in the center of the park. Over 1.25 million Irish attended mass there with the late Pope John Paul II back in 1979.
Kimball students visited the Garden of Remembrance, which represents peace in Ireland. The late President JFK had Irish descent and spoke in this garden in 1963 just 5 months before he died.
Next, the group experienced a breathtaking visit to the historic St. Patrick's Cathedral, which dates back to 1220.
The afternoon included free time in downtown Dublin to dine at a local café, shop and explore.
The group also took a 2-hour visit to EPIC museum, Every Person Is Connected, to learn about the history of Ireland and the reasoning behind emigration.
The day was capped off with an entertaining dinner at Taylors, which featured talented musicians and dancers showcasing Irish folk dancing and music. Some of the Kimball students even had the opportunity to partake in dancing as well.
Day 3 in Ireland was jaw-dropping for Kimball Area Travel Club members on June 18.
Students were introduced to the local game of Hurling.
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of players and much terminology.
The group then visited the Irish National Stud & Gardens Museum. Students enjoyed an award-winning Irish racehorse experience. Folks walked through the world-famous Japanese Gardens and walked around the stud farm.
After lunch at a local café, the group traveled to view the breathtaking Kilkenny Castle.
The powerful Irish Butler family owned the castle for nearly 800 years before selling Kilkenny Castle in 1967 to the Castle Restoration Committee for a symbolic £50. This was done by Arthur Butler, 6th Marquess of Ormonde, who felt it was necessary to preserve the historic castle from further deterioration, according to Irish Tourism. The castle was then handed over to the state shortly afterwards and the state spent millions restoring the castle.
Students then enjoyed a walking tour through the heart of Kilkenny, learning about the history of the city. What a day!
Day 4 the Kimball Area Travel Club members toured an organic apple orchard and a local dairy farm.
The 5-generation farm, known as Highbank Orchard, claims to be only organic apple orchard in the world.
Students had the opportunity to taste test apple cider vinegar, treacle, orchard syrup and homegrown strawberries under the beautiful canopy of a 350 year old oak tree. The tradition at the orchard is to hug the large tree and make a wish.
Later in the afternoon on June 19 the Kimball group traveled to a local dairy farm in nearby Moonarch.
Students learned about how one farmer can remotely milk a herd of 75 cattle using robotic machines while traveling the world.
Students were able to tour the 88-acre farm and help pick "stones" in the clover-sown field.
There are 1800 dairy farms in Ireland, in which 93% of dairy production is exported out of the country. An impressive 46% of the world's baby formula stems from Ireland.
Kimball Area Travel Club is looking forward to visiting produce and beef farms tomorrow.
Day 5 the Kimball Area Travel Club visited two more local farms in Ireland.
The first stop was at The Village at Wheelocks, a family-owned strawberry farm. Students learned about the growing process and the importance of marketing on the business side of things, which only sells locally and not to super markets.
Farmer Cyril said, "We grow what we sell and sell what we grow."
The 28-acre strawberry farm employs roughly 50 people and strives to respect both their employees and customers.
As Farmer Cyril added, "Good customer service creates ripples while bad customer service creates waves."
There are only above ground/table top strawberry farms in Ireland. Farmers have found this process is better for labor, to pick the berries standing up versus in the ground and bent over.
Kimball students enjoyed weeding the strawberry plants, picking ripe strawberries and eating some of the best tasting strawberries in the world.
Kimball Area Travel Club also partook in the Redmond Farm Tour on June 20.
Students had the opportunity to plant broccoli and cabbage prior to walking the farmland, learning about the agricultural history of Ireland.
The Irish export 90% of their produced beef, in which 40% of the exported beef goes to the UK.
Most farms use a pasture-based system for beef cattle. It takes roughly 18-24 months for the cattle to reach a target weight of 1400 pounds prior to processing.
The small island of Ireland also has 160 kilometers of hedge rows, which is enough to circle the world 4x over. The required hedges help improve air quality in Ireland by acting as natural barriers that filter pollutants, capture carbon, and generally contribute to a healthier environment.
In Ireland, June 21st is the date of the June Solstice, which is the longest day and shortest night of the year.
Kimball Area Travel Club had a breathtaking day, making visits to the Cliffs of Moher and swimming in the Galway Bay, which is fed by the North Atlantic Ocean.
Located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher are 710 feet high and run 14 kilometers.
It's fascinating to learn that the rocks that make up the Cliffs of Moher were formed over 300 million years ago during the Carboniferous Period.
The group also made a stop at a Galway Bay beach, which is fed from the North Atlantic Ocean. Students braved the cold weather and water, enjoyed collecting sea shells and playing football on the beach.
Day 7 the Kimball Area Travel Club traveled outside of Galway to visit the Glengowla Mines, pan for gold, witness a sheepdog presentation and learn about oyster farming on June 22.
The Glengowla Mines opened in 1850-1865, then reopened for tourism in the 1990's. The mine goes as deep as 240 feet in some areas where previous miners mined for lead and silver in the 1800's. Galena Stone was found there, made of lead and silver.
The local sheep farmer uses border collie dogs to help herd his sheep. They use voice commands and whistle commands for long distances with their trained dogs. The most important part on farm is breeding animals. Ireland exports 90% of its wool, which unfortunately is not worth much anymore.
Kimball visited the Kylemore Abbey for lunch, which featured a castle and small Gothic church dating back to the 1800's.
Kimball Area Travel Club wrapped up Day 7 at the Connemara Oysters Farm, which dates back to 1893, one of the oldest oyster farms in Ireland. Farmer David reiterated that you need resilience on a farm.
Students learned about the 3-year process of how oysters grow, how to harvest the oysters, how to shuck the oysters and how to pack the oysters "cup up" with sea weed for deliveries.
This Ireland oysters farm exports an annual output of 100 tons of oysters around the world, with Malaysia being the most consistent customer.
The highlight of the oyster farm visit (or lowlight as some of students would say) was trying a fresh oyster for the first time.
Kimball Area Travel Club members enjoyed a walking tour of Galway on Day 8.
Some of the group members visited the Galway Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and Saint Nicholas, which dates back to the 1300's.
Christopher Columbus prayed at this Cathedral before sailing across the ocean to the Americas.
Students also had the opportunity to experience local dining at the famous McDonagh's fish and chips restaurant.
Downtown Galway was humming with local artists, music and shopping.
A traditional dish of Irish Shepherd's Pie was served as the last meal for the group on June 23.
Kimball Area Travel Club returned safely home from Ireland on June 24. Led by Kimball Agriculture teacher, Michaela Gallup, the group of 8 experienced the trip of a lifetime through EF Educational Tours.
2025 Ireland Trip Stats
□ 10 days
□ 12,292+ miles traveled (plane and bus)
□ 50+ miles of walking
□ Over 122k steps taken individually
□ 5 Irish farms visited
□ 40 travelers from 4 states - Minnesota, Montana, Texas and Colorado
□ Visited 5 castles and saw nearly 100 castles traveling through the countryside
□ Irish music and folk dancing
□ Learned the local game of Hurling
□ Ate delicious homegrown food and enjoyed delicious desserts
□ Visited inside 6 churches and saw hundreds of churches dating back as old as 450 BC.
□ Memories for a lifetime made in Ireland = Priceless
"Strangers are only friends you haven't met yet." - Ireland motto
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