Conference Day

So today, I actually went to the conference, and considering it's the reason I'm here, I think at least one visit was in order. I attended a good panel on film this morning and followed that up with a talk/interview with Bernadette McAliskey. The latter was a bit of a disappointment though, because she really only talked about her childhood and her parents rather than her work as a civil rights activist. The last work related bit of the day was my conference panel. The paper went well, but I think everyone was extraordinarily tired and ready to call it a day.
We met up with Rachael and some UConn alum for drinks and dinner at Riordan's. I had egg mayonnaise which is downright sinful - what's better than eggs topped with mayonnaise? Eggs topped with mayonnaise on brown bread. MMmmm. Dan and I added some Irish stew and Shepherd's Pie to the mix and stumbled home with full stomachs.
Unfortunately, Galway city is getting a bit sketchy at night. Quay and Shop Sts. were packed full of young kids looking for trouble. It was a little unnerving to walk through roving bands of thuggish, drunk brats with big glass bottles - all of which were ready to pick a fit if given the slightest of reasons. The Gardai were nowhere to be found, which made the uneasiness a bit worse. Let's just say we were happy to get back to the hotel and tuck Rachael safely into a cab.

Tomorrow we're back to vacation mode.