Hector (from Fresno, CA) and I knew that we would finish our summer assignments (his in Lisbon, Portugal and mine in Longastrino, Italy) around the same time so we had planned earlier in the Spring to escape the August heat of Rome and head to where it is cooler…Ireland…and what a fresh change it was. We had to wear sweaters for at least three out of the nine days (Aug. 3 - Aug.12)!
The first challenge I faced was driving on the opposite side of the road, sitting on the opposite side of the car and shifting gears with my left hand. The first two days I thought I was developing carpal tunnel syndrome because I was gripping the steering wheel so tight; but I finally got more comfortable and relaxed with it.
The second challenge we faced was the ‘bank holiday’ occuring the weekend we arrived. I can only equate it to Labor Day in the U.S. (everyone off of work). It was not only the height of tourist season but also all the Irish escaped the city to stay in the smaller towns (or it seemed every place we wanted to stay). Everyday it was a struggle to find a B&B (bed and breakfast) with vacancy. Everything in Ireland seemed really expensive except for the B&B’s, the best deal in Ireland –30-35 euro per person per night – of course including a large “fry” (sausages, eggs, toast, cereal, juice, coffee, etc).
Hector and I had a great relaxing time everywhere we went. We started in the west of the country, landing in Shannon, and made our way south hugging the coast most of the time. We stayed in Ireland’s third largest city, Limerick, where a funeral happened upon us as we were praying in the cathedral waiting for the daily Mass. It was a good but surprising experience – the first full day in Ireland and we attended a funeral. We then traveled to Dingle (a small and fantastic town on the coast). Dingle was so full of people that we thought we would have to sleep in the car but thank goodness we have friends ‘above’. We stayed above the Dingle pub, which was really nice except I couldn’t get to sleep until two in the morning because of the music and people below.
Irish pubs are different than the American concept of a ‘bar’ in the U.S. They are centers for the social and cultural life of a town where people of all ages gather. Spouses, even families were together meeting with each other. Nearly in every pub we went there was live traditional music and all had a very nice, even homey atmosphere. We found that people were drinking responsibly and interacting respectfully.
I would give Ireland the ‘nicest people in the world’ award if there is such a thing. Everywhere we went the people were very friendly, polite, and considerate on the streets, restaurants and B&B’s. The churches were full, especially on Sunday, and nearly every B&B was owned by a good Catholic family.
From Dingle we went to Killarney before seeing the Ring of Kerry. While praying in the cathedral of Killarney we could have stuck around to see a wedding but we thought it would be wise to first find a place to stay for the night, so missed it. The weather is hit-and-miss in Ireland (being foggy and rainy a lot of the time) but we had the luck of the Irish with us. It was a sunny and beautiful day to see the mountains and coast of the Ring of Kerry. From there we tried to stay in Cork but it was too difficult to find a place so we stayed outside of the city
We stopped for a little bit in Waterford and stayed in Kilkenny, my favorite town. It had a beautiful castle and we were able to celebrate Mass on the feast of St. Dominic at a beautiful Dominican church called the Black Abbey. We also stopped in at the Kilkenny brewery to taste-test some Smithwicks and Kilkenny beer.
We traveled to Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland thinking that there were some great gardens until we realized that the whole county, not just the town, is called the ‘garden of Ireland’ because it is so green. I couldn’t see how it was greener than the rest of the country, which is all very lush but that is what they say.
There was a young couple from Belgium staying at the same B&B in Wicklow. They were unable to rent a car because of their age so they were hitchhiking through Ireland. They wanted to see the monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century in Glendalough and the gorgeous gardens of PowersCourt near Dublin as we did so we all crammed in the car and spent the day together. A group of us are planning to go to Belgium for Christmas and I look forward to meeting them again in their home country.
Hector and I spent two days in Dublin but by far the best experience was chatting with the owner of the B&B, Pat. He is a hilarious and outrageous man. Every other word was a curse word but he didn’t mean anything by it, it was just the way he spoke. One day we needed some more toilet paper and as he gave us some rolls he said with a thick Irish accent “the job isn’t finished until the paperwork is done”.
Seeing historical, cultural, and religious sights are valuable for my travels and formation as a future priest but it is always connected with the people who currently live from the inheritance of Europe’s past. I enjoyed visiting with all the people we met, hearing their joys, struggles and hopes.
From Dublin we drove across the country to Galway, on the west coast. On our way to the airport in Shannon, where we started our trip, we stopped to see the incredible cliffs of Mohr. There was construction going on to keep people at a safer distance from the edge but nearly all the tourists didn’t pay attention to the signs. Many got dangerously close.
It was curious that nearly all the Catholic churches were only 200 years old, especially since St. Patrick brought the faith 1,400 years ago to Ireland (in the 600’s) but then we began to see the pattern of two cathedrals in most large towns, one for the Catholic Church (being about 200 years old) and another for the Church of Ireland (which was always much older). In the 1500’s Henry VIII had broken from Rome, wanting a divorce, and started the church in England that is subject to the state not the pope. It makes sense that the Catholics had to rebuild since their churches were taken away.
I only was able to see the southern part of Ireland and left a lot of the northern part for a future visit. I hope to return sometime. It is a beautiful country.
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