Ireland

Ireland is a special place for me, with my father being born and raised in County Down. Nicola and I have visited Northern Ireland before, but never spent any time in the South. We took the ferry across from Wales and landed in Dublin. Although the capital city seems bustling and vibey, we were keen to head out into the countryside, so rented a car and headed straight to Waterford, where we booked a small B&B in the tiny seaside village of Bunmahon.

Our hosts at Copper Coast B&B, Anne and Michael were amazingly friendly and welcoming. We arrived after 9pm and they made us 'tea' (which is a meal), and went out of their way to make us feel at home. Our favourite Irish quotes from our stay:

"At least it won't be raining tomorrow, only showers..."

"Yes, I'm from around here, born and raised, but not Anne. Nooo, she's from 5 or 6 miles up the road."

We stopped in at the city of Waterford, with the main attraction being the Waterford Crystal factory. We were treated to a fascinating guided tour of the process of blowing, grinding, cutting, polishing and engraving of this world-renowned product.

We then headed north-eastwards through the famous towns of Tipperary (we finally discovered there is more to the song than the chorus) and Limerick, with a highly variable quality of limericks produced between the front and back seats. A combined effort went along the lines of:

There once was a man named Maloney,

Who ate a large chunk of polony,

His breath became rank

And his teeth also stank,

So he drank down his eau de cologne-y

We moved swiftly out of the town before things got worse, and up to County Galway, to an absolutely bizarre 350 year old castle! We had a Rocky Horror-esque entrance through the creaking purple castle door, into a dark hallway where an incense stick was lit but everything else was dark. We shuffled our way past large paintings with enormous eyes in huge hallways and rooms, for the first time in our AirBnB-life wondering if this was for real, or if someone was going to jump out of a corner with heavy make up and a medieval weapon. We found our way up the stairs to the only made up room (we were the only guests it seemed...). While we wondered what to do next, all of a sudden, Alan, a very chatty, eccentric artist/party DJ/castle host emerged from an upper chamber with an armful of toilet paper. Although unusual accommodation, it certainly was memorable!

Galway was a real surprise to us. Dramatic coastline, lovely festive Christmas street vibe and traditional Irish music in cozy pubs. A great day out.

From Galway we took a drive back to Dublin and a bus up to Belfast. This is where we have a dilemma: do we include Northern Ireland in our 'Ireland' page, or have a new page completely? Is it one nation or two? I still don't know. To an outsider, the north and the south are very similar. To the locals, they are not. Although the 'Troubles' have evidently quietened down a lot, there is still much sensitivity.

The highlight of Northern Ireland was undoubtedly seeing all the Irish family again. We were generously hosted by my Aunt Felicity and had lovely visits from Aunt Sheelagh, Uncle Welby, cousins and second cousins.

After a wonderful visit to the farm next door - where Farmer Hilary introduced us to Michael the Goat, The Colonel (affectionate donkey), Tom the moustachioed pony and the rest of the nativity scene huddled in the warmth of the barn - we headed into Belfast to the Titanic Museum. It was fantastic, so creatively presented and wonderfully interactive. We learnt a lot about Belfast ship-building, the immense effort over 3 years that went into crafting the enormous luxury vessel, and the fateful 5 day maiden voyage that lost it all amidst so many deaths. With so much information presented in so many ways, it was interesting afterwards piecing together what had made an impression on each of us - the way white hot metal rods were thrown amongst the artisans to be used as rivets, the 40 000 blocks of cheese that were loaded, the extensive First Class luncheon menu, the numbers of workers who went deaf during construction. A living example of how we filter according to our interests and expectations - we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.

Nick remembered whining his way down to the Giant's Causeway as a child, so this time round, both the children and the event exceeded our expectations! The northern coast is so beautiful, whispering wildness to the sea, and there was some sense of homecoming as we headed into the bays. Our National Trust guide wove the threads of geology and Irish mythology so well as we passed giant dolerite dyke camels, 65 million year old layers of volcanic basalt, and finally the great story of Finn McCool and his Scottish nemesis, Bennandonner, whose antics created the causeway.

"Beauty is about more rounded, substantial becoming. So I think beauty, in that sense, is about an emerging fullness, a greater sense of grace, elegance, a deeper sense of depth, and also a kind of homecoming to the enriched memory of your unfolding life." - John O'Donahue

From natural beauty to artistic beauty, our final hours in Ireland included a lesson in parian porcelain by renowned artist, Anne Butler whose studio is in Felicity's former stables. Carys and Daniel would still be there if we hadn't cajoled them towards supper and packing for our trip to Scotland the next day.