A Taste of Ireland
By: Rachael Chansler, Nursing ’23
Rachael enjoying a plate of boxty while working on the literature review for the project.
Nursing Research in Dublin – Ireland
This summer, I had the privilege of working with an amazing team based out of Trinity College Dublin. Professor Eimear McGlinchey, my PI, and Holley Dennehy and Andrew Allen, other members of the team, did everything they could to support me and my learning this summer while still giving me little tastes of the Irish culture that was over 3000 miles away from me.
From different phrases and pronunciations and talks of what a long car ride really means, I noticed how much I was missing one of my favorite parts of travel: trying local food.
Food is always an exciting experience in a new place, filled with colors, scents, spices, and of course flavors, that dance with joy and personality. Food also comes with company. Across a table, on a picnic blanket, or balanced precariously on a flimsy plate upon the knees, food gives a reason to connect with the people and plates that surround you.
Since I was staying at a friend’s home in a different state, the places to eat where I was were new to me too. I didn’t know where to look for a sample of traditional Irish cuisine. So instead of finding it, I decided to recreate it (to my best attempt). After searching for recipes whose identity could not be separated from that of Ireland, I decided to make boxty. Boxty is a potato pancake made with both shredded and mashed potatoes that is commonly eaten with eggs and bacon, smoked salmon and crème fraiche, or just smothered in loads of butter. Working with what I had available, I chose to just go the simple route and serve them with butter.
My friend and her family all had different schedules than I did that day, so we couldn’t dig into the boxty together, but as I cooked, each person had a chance to come down and chat as the potatoes sizzled away. It reminded me in a way of how my internship experience was going. The busyness of life and the effects of working across different time zones meant we may not have been able to share this meal around the same table, but the act of cooking and the smell of food was still enough to draw in conversation, draw in connections.
As I sat and prepared to eat my meal, I checked the weather in Dublin. It was nearly the same temperature as where I was in Connecticut, and the same light breeze and cloud cover was forecasted in both towns. I spread the butter on the boxty and got to work, letting the breeze take me away to a restaurant patio on the other side of the world.
The GRIP experience this summer was not typical in any way, but I’m glad I had it. Hopefully someday soon I can make the trip to Ireland and meet the team at TCD in person, perhaps over a plate of boxty with butter.
The Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research abroad for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. Participants gain career-enhancing experience and global exposure that is essential in a global workforce.