In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and all of my Irish relatives past and present, I’d like to share a bit of green with you.  I was very fortunate to be able to visit Ireland in 2006, along with my brother. We went to meet others for a mini family reunion, so to speak.  Of course, we managed to do some sighseeing while we were there. Here are some of the highlights from that trip. We started in the lovely town of Howth, and from there took the train into Dublin.

After Howth and Dublin, we headed up North to Belfast where we spent a crazy day searching for and photographing as many political murals as we could find.  In retrospect, this was probably not such a great idea, but it did lend a certain level of excitement to the trip.  Then we were off to the northern tip of Ireland, to Portrush. This is where we saw one of my favorite sites, Dunluce castle.

Next on our stop was Tipperary County, in central Ireland, where we would meet up with our distant relatives.  This part of the country leaves you speechless. It is so lush and green, with narrow country roads lined by ancient stone walls; old crumbling abbeys and parts of castles sit in the middle of cow pastures.

There is something almost magical about Ireland. It’s hard to describe: the damp earth smell, (Did I mention that it rains a lot?), mixed with the scents of ancient things and burning coal (from fireplaces, in May). In certain places, I felt like I had traveled back in time a few hundred years. I traipsed through the pasture where my ancestors’ home once stood; imagined their life before the family split and two brothers would leave for the U.S. and make their home in the midwest.

Then there’s the history everywhere, from the castles to the Great Famine Museum to the stories our distant relatives told us.  One story involves a “holy well” on our ancestor’s property. The water was known for its “healing powers.”  Neighbors would often come to the site of the well and have parties there.  Here’s what it looked like on the inside.

The outside is not so pretty.  In an effort to preserve it, someone encased it in cement mixed with pebbles; a shame, really.  We all took turns crawling through the small opening to sit for a moment along the stone benches lining both sides of the water.  We took an empty 2-liter soda bottle, filled it up and then divvied up the contents. My portion sits in a decorative bottle on top of my mantle at home. 

The visit with the relatives included an amazing catered dinner for about 18 of us (some spouses and children included). Some came from England, some from Canada, and I don’t remember where else. 

We all made a few visits to a relative’s gas station/convenience store, where we were treated to scones and tea.  I tried to capture a picture, but for some reason it kept grabbing this photo of the sign.  Anyway, if you happen to stop in at Perry’s, be sure and ask for some cookies.  The owner will laugh hysterically because she’s never heard of cookies (well, now she has) - imagine that.  To her they’re known as “biscuits.”

Well, this is getting a bit long so I’d better come to a close.  My heart ached to see more of Ireland, because ten days doesn’t get you very far. I hope to go back some day. After the rendezvous with the relatives, it was time to head back to the Dublin area to get ready to leave. 

 And in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll leave you with these parting words:

“Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.”     St. Patrick

For more St. Patrick’s Day posts, visit JanMary’s site by clicking the St. Patrick’s Day button in the top right sidebar.

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