Wednesday, May 14th, 2025
Today was an early start as our first activity began at 9:00 AM. We were visiting IFCO, or Irish Film Classification Office. While there, we had the opportunity to talk with one of the movie classifiers who explained his job and what goes into deciding a film’s classification. He talked about how he and his team (a total of 6 members, but usually only 2 or 3 classify a singular film) watch 2 films a day (never exceeding 5 hours as to not become desensitized). They are responsible for giving each film an appropriate rating.
The rating scale in Ireland is as follows:
- For Theatrical Releases
- G
- PG
- 12A (the A stands for adult supervision)
- 15A (the A stands for adult supervision)
- 16
- 18
- For Video/DVD Releases
- G
- PG
- 12
- 15
- 18
We did an exercise while we were there. We spent 20 minutes watching a screening called “The Golden West”, then we discussed what rating we believed the short film should receive and why. We decided (and were correct to assume) that this film should receive a 15A classification.
Our trip to IFCO was a short one and was finished by 10:00 AM. Since we had the entire rest of the day to ourselves; Sav, Max and I took a train to the west – to visit Galway!
Off to Galway we go!
After a two and a half hour train ride, we made it to Galway. A beautiful, quaint seaside town – Galway was a breath of fresh air.
We spent the afternoon walking around the Latin Quarter, window shopping and perusing. We also visited the Thomas Dillon store, home to the original Claddagh ring.
Around 4:30 PM we got dinner – pizza from a place called Lil Bros Pizza. It was basically a New York style pizza, with each slice being as big as your head. I got a burrata slice with basil and multiple cheese, it was delicious (and pretty cheap too)!
We also visited Galway Cathedral, which was such a stunning building with the most exquisite stained glass windows and artwork up the walls and ceiling. The cathedral was so immense that it honestly made me feel so small, and while we were there, there were people participating in what I believe to be a service of some kind (mass maybe, I am unsure, I’m not Catholic). Sav and I kept saying to ourselves “imagine if this was just your church you went to”. It was just unbelievable. I honestly wish that more churches in the U.S. looked like that, instead of the modern-style that is becoming more prevalent.
After we left the church, we decided to go walk along the water. Out of all the things we did in Galway, this was my absolute favorite! The water was so blue and clear, I’ve never actually seen water like that in my life. As we walked along the shore I picked up a plethora of seashells and little conch shells – finds that are so much more rare at the beaches I go to in the States.
Then I took my shoes off and decided I was going in. Again, the water was crystal clear making it less daunting to dip my feet in. It was a little cold at first, but it was amazing. I loved the fact that I was technically standing in the Atlantic ocean, and that just on the other side was home. A little apprehensive at first was Max and Sav, but they ended up joining me. I said “when will you ever get the chance to stand in Irish water again?”
By this time we had a train to catch to get back to Dublin. So we headed to the station, rode for two and a half to three hours, listened to listen to music, TikToks, and other inappropriate content (unfortunately) through a speaker until we finally ended up back on the east coast of Ireland.
All in all, we didn’t spend too much time in Galway, but I’m glad we simply got up and went. I had a wonderful time and was really excited to see the west coast of Ireland.