Ireland… I’ve visited this fine Island three times now and I fall further in love with every visit. This time, without a question, has been my favourite voyage to the land of four leaf clovers and leprechauns!
In the past I’ve spent a good portion in Dublin. Though thoroughly Irish, Dublin suffers from the same fate as most major cities in the Western World – say London or Toronto – there is a hint of the local culture but some of the magic is lost in its cosmopolitan make-up. In Galway, though, where I spent the majority of this stay, the Irish spirit is alive and
well.
I landed on a couch at a fellow Korean English teacher’s, Coman Duke’s, flat in Ornmore. That week, though, his mother was running in the local election and I was injected into the vote and the aftermath of municipal elections in Ireland. I had never been involved in a Canadian political campaign let alone spending an afternoon taking down posters of Josette Farrell, a labour candidate and Coman’s lovely mother, after an ever so slight loss in the polls. This of course allowed me to see rural Ireland and the all the outposts in a way that provided a new spin to my trip to the Green Country.
The mountain sheep - No Good for Nuttin' Coman said as they forced the bus to come to a screeching halt
Ireland, Coman insisted, is a lovely country if you could only put a roof over it.
Rural Ireland is pretty unique. The country of four million people, is bursting with sheep, donkeys, horses, and cows.
This donkey came right down to pose for the camera...But the views are unique. Even coming from a picturesque province like New Brunswick you can’t help but marvel at the landscape. Especially on the west coast, where, facing the Atlantic, the Irish have to deal with perhaps the harshest weather conditions coupled with a terrain that until modern technology refused to produce much more than additional rocks. The continuous rain produces a vibrant green that few other areas of the world can truly understand without experiencing it first hand. Even in the dreary overcast skies that routinely dominate the horizon, the crisp greens greet the eye and leave all but the most negative visitor in awe.
Beautiful Ireland
Ironically, there were really only two days I had to endure the rain.
Niall, another teacher from Korea who now lives in Dublin and Owen, also a fellow English teacher from Ipswich, England, joined us for three days and two nights of legendary craic (The Irish way of saying fun)! We all played soccer together in Ulsan for the Won Shot Wanderers and that bond, perhaps more than others, has stuck! I remember writing in my final Korean blog that I would miss a good number of the foreign teachers from all over the globe because never again would we face the adversity that we had in Korea and as a result rely on such a special group so much to keep our lows in check and our morale high. I went so far as to suggest that though we, as world travelers, would undoubtedly cross paths it would never be the same again. While that may still be true, the bonds of that soccer team are incredible. To put it in perspective, I had seen Niall three years ago in Ireland where he played host, Owen stopped by my place in Waterloo for two nights and Colin joined him. I hadn’t seen Coman in over four years and Owen hade not seen either Niall of Coman since he had left Korea. Yet, it took all of four seconds for us to be taking the piss and launching insults in a way only close friends can.
Together we visited the Cliffs of Moher. A dangerous set of cliffs that provide a natural barrier to the Atlantic Ocean and also rank highly on the must-see landscapes in Ireland!
The Cliffs of Moher
The beautiful view was diminished only by the Irish weather that included vindictive clouds that decided once we had reached the furthest point from the car to unleash the full assault of rain and wind on unsuspecting tourists. We did what any reasonable individual would do in that case. Abandoned the sightseeing for the inside of a Pub in Lahinch. We couldn’t have had more fun! The people who cam in seem to congregate around the tom foolery that was us!
Owen, Coman, Niall, and myself in Lahinch
Lahinch - the next day. It is a seaside tourist surfing town
With time to kill the next day before Owen flew out, we stopped at a pitch and putt. It was a sight to behold as the normally athletic trifecta of Owen, Niall, and Coman played some of the worst Golf I have ever witnessed. You would have sworn they were building sandcastles as they tried to get out of the bunker. After 11 holes they were done each having already swung enough for the price they paid! Great Craic again!!
Owen - A Disaster in the Bunker at the Pitch and Putt
I ended my stay in Ireland driving the country of Galway county with Coman taking the sky road to see more beauty!
Great friends, Great Beer (yes I drink Guinness with a smile now), and Great scenery… The Irish grasp on what is important in life is so refreshing. Even as they toil to carve out a life for themselves they never forget the important friendships, the laid back lifestyle, the value of an afternoon in the pub, and the dry humour that comes instinctively to a population so oppressed by Mother Nature and English domination.
A little bit of the Irish Humour - A monument to nothing...
The 2 West...much to my chagrin I was headed back to Onterrible
Farmer's fields just past Peticodiac, NB
In New Brunswick we drive at a reasonable speed...
Gotta love the Moose Signs...
Don't you??
Stopped off at my Alma Matter - The University of New Brunswick
The Company that received sooo much of my hard earned money for gas!!
Fort Kent, ME - This is the end of Route 1 in the states!! that's NORTH!
Everyone Loves a Blizzard!!
Even the washrooms along the highway adorned the Fleur de Lis
Hit Montreal at about noon - which put just in line to hit Toronto at 5pm...instead of waiting an hour in traffic, the Lovely Veronique joined me for lunch in MTL...Thanks Vero
Ten minutes from my exit I ran into this log-jam...I know construction is neccesary but did it have to be that night and just in front of my exit??
