South to Dundalk

Dundalk is the largest "town" in Ireland. There are more than 35,000 people who make their homes in Dundalk. It is the middle point between Belfast and Dublin on the east coast. You may have tried the beer they brew in Dundalk called Harp Lager. It's also home to St. Patrick's Cathedral (pictured left). There are beautiful stained glass windows and intricate tapestries inside the cathedral. The cathedral is right in the center of the city square.

One of the other interesting features in town is an old windmill. But the it's the new wind turbine on the campus of Dundalk Institute of Technology that now stands high on the horizon. We were at DkIT to speak with a recent graduate and former Missoula Building Bridges visitor Mark Larkin. Mark was 20 years old when he came to Missoula to work on the Habitat for Humanity projects.

When he returned he did some painting work before landing a job for a high-tech U.S. company. In nine years, he worked his way up from being on the production line to being promoted to supervisor. One day he found out the company was closing down and his job was being made redundant (a nice way of saying he was laid off).

Over the years, Mark had developed a love of film so he enrolled at DkIT in media communications. He finished his course work this summer and will walk through graduation in December. Since he's finished school, Mark has been looking for work and creating posters for bars that have live music. He said he realized the recession has made it tough to find jobs in Ireland. So he's expanding his search to include Sweden where his brother moved a few years ago. Mark is using Rosetta Stone to teach himself Swedish before he leaves next week.

Today we shot video as Mark took us on a tour of the department's new building. The building used to be a tobacco factory until about 10 years ago. DkIT bought the historic building and had it converted to add computer labs, artist studios, music rooms and recording studios. Mark ran into many of his former lecturers. Even the department head showed off the building for us. Mark's a bit jealous of the current students and their opportunity to work in such a great new facility.

We'll be back in Dundalk Monday to interview Mark and his father. We also hope to capture video of Dundalk's soccer team, the Lily Whites, when they play Sligo tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for that one. (Sorry for the lack of pictures today but I'm having trouble with Blogger tonight.)