Some Craic in Ireland!!

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...

Lishboa (Lisbon)

At 5am bus number 206 pulled up at the central hub in Lishboa. In a whirlwind 23 hours, we trekked up and down 4 of the capital’s 7 hills, first visiting the important tourist stops then back to Marco’s girlfriend’s sister house to prepare for the biggest festival of the year. When I arranged to meet up with Marco in Portugal, I had no idea that June 12th was the largest celebration of the year in honour of St. Anthony, Lishboa’s patron saint. St. Anthony is also the saint of matchmaking, so at night there are pots of basil everywhere, decorated with paper carnations and hand written love poems. Marco picked up one for his Else, his girlfriend.

Marco and Else at 6am

The celebration was nothing shy of insane. Only in the subway in Tokyo during rush hour and the Paul McCartney concert outside the Coliseum in Rome have I ever come close to encountering that many people. The streets were so packed that on occasion our group of six had to form a human train to maneuver through the crowd. At times others would join in at various spots as the train turned to a traditional Portuguese dance. Everywhere food tents as well as red beer stalls worked ferociously to quench the thirst and hunger of those who stopped. At 1 euro for a beer (a very small beer but a beer nonetheless) we stopped often. But this festival was so much more than beer…

One of the many streets of Lishboa at 5am

Lishboa, the city on seven hills, allows for stunning panoramic views. At the top of each hill, the city takes on a new look - some looking out to the fishing and industrial ports on the Atlantic, others offering a lavish view of the housetop terrace’s and café’s that cascade the horizon. As we made our way up and down the hills we crossed through street parties where entire neighborhoods were shut down for the festivities. Marco had several invites and we made our way to a couple. At each place food and liquor greeted us in plentiful quantities.

I love revisiting cities that have grown on me, like Rome and the hamlets that dot the Norman coast of France, but landing in a new country always sparks different kind of wonder.

Portugal offers a unique European experience. Lying on the south western coast of Europe, Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is closer to the Moroccan capital Rabat than Madrid. As a small colonial power without many of the guns of the bigger European power, my host Marco elegantly said, Portugal was forced to copulate with the local populations of their imperial acquisitions. As a result there is a great deal of African and Brazilian culture embedded in the Portuguese experience. Portugal is also one of the few remaining affordable European destinations. Exotic Meals with all the seafood you could EVER dream of complete with many bottles of outstanding Portuguese wine will cost you no more than 20euros.

Although I alluded to the outstanding hospitality of Marco Rosa and his Girlfriend and her sister Lena, it really deserves more of a mention. I met Marco at a history conference earlier this year at the University of Southern Mississippi. From there we spent an extra two days travelling around with Colin Colburn (I met Colin on the Sicily and Southern Italy Battlefield Tour last summer and he lives in Southern Miss.). Marco, Colin and I travelled to Mobil, Alabama to satisfy our historical geekdom and walk aboard one hell of a big battleship and then we landed at the party of all parties: Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In New Orleans Marco insisted that we really must come and visit Portugal – a true ambassador for his country! Being so close in Europe I took him up on the offer. Conscious of the mere two days I had we made the most of it! I can’t wait to play host to them in the vast landscape of my beloved Canada!