What is your personal connection to Ireland and/or Dublin?  How did this connection help convince you to spend this part of your summer making this 12 day trip?

My personal connection to Ireland is that my maternal grandfather is 100% Irish. Although he was born in the United States, his grandparents were all born in Ireland and immigrated to Pittsburgh in the early 1900s. This connection definitely factored into my decision to partake in this trip because I want to personally discover my roots and learn a little bit more about the history of my family by traveling to Ireland. I felt that even if I had to give a up a large portion of my summer to participate in this program, it would be worth it just to obtain this experience and explore my personal history.