Safety Guidelines

Ballyvaughan (and Ireland in general) is relatively safer than most other places in the world, but there were still traveling safety guidelines that we have to follow to further ensure our security and well-being around the area. Some of these have been given to us by our professors, but some of these, such as 2 and 3 below, you pick up from talking to locals, who obviously know much more about the area than we do.

1. Wear your safety vest whenever you’re walking. Cars move fast on Irish roads, and there aren’t always sidewalks, especially in a small town like Ballyvaughan. Safety vests ensure that drivers can see you and avoid hitting you, even if you’re walking at night.
2. In the words of a local, “don’t talk about politics or religion” when interacting with the local people, especially at the pub. Although this isn’t exactly a safety tip, it’s a good traveling tip for if you’re ever in Ireland. People go to the pubs to have a good time and relax after work; they don’t want to spend their time arguing with others, even if it’s a conversation that’s usually viewed as a “discussion” in the US.
3. Don’t touch nettles or thistles. Nettles sting and thistles prick. Get to familiarize yourself with how these look as soon as possible. Generally try to avoid touching plants that are unknown to you. (However, I’ve heard that nettle suits exist, which keep you from getting stung during your adventures in the woods.)
4. Don’t move anything, even if it’s in a public place, especially not the rocks. This is actually one of the rules that the college has hung up on their walls. Go and explore to your heart’s content, but leave everything in its place when you leave. In Ireland, stone walls are extremely important and meaningful to the local people because they had been built there hundreds of years ago and are used to divide up property, so it’s best to not damage or change the walls at all.
5. Don’t trespass underneath wires because that’s most likely someone else’s property, and there’s a chance they may have dangerous bulls. I think that this one’s pretty self-explanatory.

If you follow all of these guidelines and use common sense when adventuring around Ireland, you’ll be grand!