Ireland Trip Provides Unforgettable Experiences, Memories for Youth

July 24, 2025

Midway through Mercy Home’s 10-day adventure to Ireland, one of the hosts, John Kearney, turned to Mercy Home’s Marc Velasquez and asked if they were providing enough for the young people whom he was chaperoning. 

Velasquez paused for a second and told Kearney that during past trips, such as a pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Poland nine years ago, he would ask the young people what they thought they would remember from the experience in five years. 

“I told John that there’s a hundred things that they could say right now that would answer that question,” Velasquez said. “There were so many things that they could take with them and remember. This trip taught them about who they are and what they like, and what they believe.”

Earlier this year, Mercy Home selected eight young people and four coworkers to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime journey to County Cork, Ireland. This was the sixth youth group our friends in Ireland have hosted since 2010. Mercy Home’s relationship with County Cork is the charitable outgrowth of a trade, technology, and tourism partnership between the governments in County Cork, Ireland and Cook County, Illinois.

One of the young women, Jess, said that she applied because “she wanted to experience going out of the country and wanted to see a different culture.”

It was a trip of new beginnings for all our young people. For Tyreese, Jess and a few other travelers, it was their first time on an airplane. And for all 12 travelers, it was their first time in Ireland. 

“Even though we had a lot of people telling us what a fun experience it was going to be, there was a little bit of reticence of not knowing what to expect,” Velasquez said.

“There were some nerves and little bit of anxiety, but also a little bit of excitement as well.”

After weeks of bonding through dinners, hiking and team-building activities, the group packed up the Mercy Home vans and headed to their flight from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport to Dublin. 

“As the plane was taking off, I was a little scared and I had to play a movie to keep me calm,” Jess said. “The turbulence… I started crying just a little bit. I was just scared.”

After the seven-hour flight, the group was met by Derry Cronin Cronin, who runs a tourism business in Cork named Specialized Travel. Cronin drove the group down to Blarney Castle, where they met their other hosts, Ger Power and his wife Eileen. Ger Power is chairman of the Cork/Cook County partnership. The young people soon learned that cars in Ireland drive on the left side of the road.

Constructed nearly 600 years ago, Blarney Castle is filled with wooded hollows, 60 acres of sprawling parklands, unique rock formations, and a glistening flowing river. 

At the heart of Blarney Castle lies one of its quirkiest attractions. Kissed by world statesmen, literary giants and films stars, the huge Blarney Stone is said to impart the gift of eloquence or “the gift of the gab.”

Jess said that kissing the Blarney Stone was one of her favorite parts of the first weekend. 

Another early highlight for some of the young people was seeing the ocean for the first time. Jakayla screamed because of the cold temperature, but Julian said that he liked putting his feet in. 

“I loved being on the ocean,” Julian said. “I had never seen the real ocean before. I’d only ever been on a lake. I couldn’t swim that well and I learned how to swim on the trip.”

Throughout the trip, the young people cheered each other on, encouraging one another to try new activities like hiking mountains, jumping off boats, and dipping into the Atlantic Ocean. It was around the third day when the coworkers saw the boys and girls doing TikTok dances together, that they felt like they had become one cohesive group.   

“To see their first interactions and how they were so separated and isolated and watch them come together in a big brother, little sister type of way and take care of each other and making sure each other were eating, was so awesome,” Angie Hicks, one of the coworkers asked to supervise the trip, said.

“It was awesome to see how well they got along together,” Hicks said. “For me, I also built relationships with the kids. Julian was one of the reasons why I overcame my fear and got in the Atlantic Ocean and went snorkeling. He encouraged me.”

The group spent the next few days in Cape Clear, known as the teardrop of Ireland, not just because it is the southernmost part of the island, but because it was the last piece of the country emigrants saw when they left for America.

“I [liked] the country scene and all the cows and animals that [I saw],” Jakayla said.

Cronin and Power met with the group at Mercy Home just before St. Patrick’s Day weekend to orient them to their upcoming adventure, answer any questions, address any fears, and ask them what they hoped to get out of the experience.

But whether it was riding rapids down to the Atlantic, sea kayaking, or dancing to Irish music with locals, every activity was an opportunity for them to face the unfamiliar, reach beyond their comfort zones, and acquire personal skills that can be applied to other areas of their lives. These are some of the most enriching outcomes of travel, and why the Cork visit was such a growth experience for our young people.

One of the group’s favorite memories was the day spent on Kearney’s boat. At first, Velasquez and Jess were the only two who hopped into the water to snorkel. But after 30 minutes, the rest of the group joined and some even jumped off the boat into the ocean.

When asked about his favorite part of the trip, Julian said it was making friends with Kearney’s son Rory, who encouraged him to jump into the water. 

“I think about how many kids were afraid to get in the water and to snorkel and see the jellyfish,” Velasquez said. “There were so many fears that were conquered in that moment. They did it in cold water and they did it together. That’s the thing that I’m going to remember most. It felt a little chaotic, but we did it together and it was incredibly memorable.”

Velasquez said that he does not think that the young people will be able to fully recognize the significance of this trip until the coming months or years, but he tried to vocalize it for them. Even Ger Power wrote to Velasquez and said that the kids he met at the beginning of the trip were different than the ones that left. 

Velasquez responded by saying it wasn’t just the kids who had changed, but him as well. 

“If I was given the chance to take the trip again, I would take it,” Jess said.

“I’m glad that I took the opportunity to go to Ireland because it expanded what I knew about it and my experience. It helped me get out of my comfort zone.”

Thank you once more to our wonderful hosts in Cork and to everyone who supported this life-changing odyssey for our young people.