Our workshop is going well. I am getting a lot of tips on crime fiction that can be converted into crime reporting. For instance, writing in shorter and punchier sentences is good advice for both reporting and writing crime.

The showcase was an amazing way to show off all of the work we have done this month. The performances all went really well, and we all got complimented after by audience members who genuinely seemed interested in what we had done.

Day three:

The controversy at Ian Knox was interesting. From seeing it first-hand and from talking to others in the group, I have gotten the sense that Ireland struggles with racism and racial ignorance because it is not a very diverse population.

Malachi’s talk was fascinating. He has a very cynical point of view on Northern Ireland politics, but all of his insights are completely valid. I learned so much about N.I’s situation with the union as well as the European union and the politics in Europe in general.

Day four:

In our crime fiction workshop, our teacher had us all write from the same scenario. We all wrote with a character that was about to get married and a character who was a spy running from pursuers, and both characters were traveling to Armagh. I think it was a good scenario to write from because it was a good contrast and gave the chance to write something happy and something a little sinister.

Hewitt:

The John Hewitt summer school has been a really valuable experience. The showcase was a perfect way to present our plays, poems and stories.

We all got the chance to meet people from Northern and Southern Ireland as well as Britain and other parts of Europe. John Hewitt brings people together from a wide variety of places.

The sessions themselves were very informative. There were all types of writers and academics, including playwrights, journalists, poets, politicians and activists. My favorite session was Malachi’s panel because Malachi’s moderation was critical and straight to the point. The panel discussed education, Catholics and Protestants, welfare, the Irish language and much more.

The summer school was a great way to end the Armagh Project.

My workshop so far seems like it will be a fun experience. I’m hoping that I can take one or two things out of what the teacher says about Crime Fiction and apply it to my articles. I also may write a short story for it. Writing for fun will be a huge change of pace for me.

Firstly, it is a very small place. I feel as though I learned how to get everywhere in Armagh within a week, but Belfast was much more complicated and Dublin stretched as far as the eyes could see. Secondly, Armagh has its own type of people and environment. In Armagh, we are quite unusual because we are young and diverse.

Armagh is charming because it has beautiful buildings, friendly people and it is safe and cozy. But, because I am a city person, I have to say I prefer to be in a place where I can’t find the end of the road.

As a participant, I’ve learned that I need to slow down my speech because I naturally talk very quickly but that doesn’t work on stage.

This results in journalists writing at about a 10th grade reading level most of the time so that those with less intelligence or reading ability can also understand the content. Though it depends on the publication, editors at many newspapers will cut out complicated words and opt for short, simple sentences with easy-to-understand words.

The idea when writing an article is to make sure the reader does not have to stop and think for a moment while reading. Flow is extremely important; we have to make sure each idea flows to the next one flawlessly so that the reader does not have to stretch.

Writing to everyone can be a pain sometimes.

In 1996, the Irish Republican Army bombed Manchester, England in what came to be known as the Manchester bombing. The bomb was 3,300 pounds and was put in a van in Manchester city centre, targeting the city’s buildings to cause damage.

The bomb did cause destruction and cost the city about 700 million pounds, which would be over 1 billion today. But the bigger effect was that the bombing injured 212 people. The IRA phoned warnings about an hour and a half before the bomb detonated, and the area was evacuated, but that did not stop the injuries.

The Manchester bombing was the biggest bombing in Great Britain since World War II. It was condemned by the British and Irish governments as well as U.S. President Bill Clinton. The IRA later stated that they ‘regretted causing injury to civilians.’

The perpetrators of the bombing were never caught. This was just one of the many tragedies of the Troubles, leaving many injured with no justice.

John is the first one to the office every morning and he is the last one to leave every evening. He works harder than everyone else. His lunch breaks aren’t really breaks because he uses them to meet with reporters and check in on their stories.

John sits at his desk working away and when he needs a reporter to come to his desk he says their name loudly without breaking eye contact with his computer. He doesn’t have time to walk to someone else’s desk and it gives him more control in the newsroom if he doesn’t move around himself.

John thinks of little else but work. He may have a wife at home but kids are out of the question with his schedule.

I don’t know whether to look up to John or pity him. John is what every journalist hopes to become and fears becoming.

Then I was sent to shadow journalists covering the Twelfth parade. Every year, the parades commission decides where the Protestant organization can and cannot parade, and for the last couple of years they have not allowed them to parade up a Catholic neighborhood due to fear of violence. The Protestants protest this by parading up to the police barrier on the Catholic street, and it generally turns violent. Last year, it was peaceful, so the reporters were crossing their fingers that nothing went wrong.

A reporter, photographer and I squeezed up against a house next to the police barrier, so we were about 10 feet from the protesters. The parade marched up to the barrier, and people started shouting at the police. Within just a few minutes, bottles started being thrown. Suddenly, one of the protesters threw a ladder straight at us (not sure why they were so mad at the media?) which didn’t hit me but hit the other reporter and photographer both in the head. The crowd rushed straight at us and the line of police, and we had about 3 seconds before they were all going to hit us. The officers beside us turned around and ran, which was part funny and part terrifying. The photographer yelled “RUN!” and so we ran, jumping over gates next to the houses as fast as possible and then sprinting behind police cars in the distance.

Police cars and officers in full riot gear came tearing down the street to push the crowd back. After they got the line back under control, it was a waiting game to see if anything else happened. The crowd kept throwing bottles and we kept having to move backward to avoid getting hit with them.

Soon, we realized that some of the crowd had moved. We went back up the street and saw that protesters had surrounded the Catholic street on all sides, so there was no way out except through the crowd (which wasn’t really an option). We simply waited and tried to snap a few pictures of the crowd around the line of police. At one point, a girl got severely injured as a car backed up into her to avoid getting hit by rioters. That was an unfortunate sight to see.

The rest of the night was spent shivering (it was a very cold night) and watching the police try to push back the protesters. They used water cannons and threatened them with rubber bullets until they finally dispersed. As we left, one of the rioters threw a bottle straight at us. Again, I don’t understand why the media was a target for them.

So, that was my first day. My second and third days have been much less eventful. I have been writing up short stories for the Telegraph about a variety of topics. I got my first byline today on a short brief about an avian flu outbreak in Britain. Today I am writing about a 16-year-old who was arrested for riotous behavior as a followup to the parade. It’s a great experience to sit in a big-league newsroom in another country.

I would like to ask Martin how he deals with criticism from those who are offended by the topics of his plays. I believe I can apply it as a journalist to what we deal with when readers have issues with our coverage.

When the play began, I was immediately struck by the main actor’s range of facial expressions and emotions. His face erupted in smiles and frowns quicker than I would’ve thought possible, his voice screeched and moaned with drama, and he shed tears more than once. It was wonderful. I never expected to get hit with such array of feelings, poured so carefully into every word at the audience. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the main actor.

Another thing that stood out to me was the performance by the Grigson’s. Both actors did an amazing job, enough so that I was physically cringing during their scenes because of the harshness of their relationship.

The one interpretation I wasn’t as much a fan of was the relationship between Minnie and Donal. When I read the play, I read it more sweet and I didn’t see the raw sexuality as much. However, I did think it was unique, and I like that they took the risk.

Overall, I thought the Abbey theatre did a really fantastic job with the play.