I know, it’s not a headline you read too often, but it happens. On our recent trip to Ireland somehow we managed to pick the time of the heatwave and we saw Ireland in a light we never expected. In basking hot, sizzling, tar melting sunlight.
We were ready for the grey, dreich days, sideways rain and howling winds but we didn’t get any of that. In fact so ill-equipped was I, that I had to go and buy some emergency summer clothes.
The wonderful weather was a bonus true, but that wasn’t what made the trip so memorable.
Ireland was another one of those places I had always had a ‘thing’ about. It’s like Scotland’s favourite cousin. You know you’re going to have fun when there is an Irish person in the room. If you know an Irish person, you’ll know what I mean.
As most people know the landscape in Ireland is so diverse that it’s impossible to describe it adequately even with the most carefully chosen adjectives. Stunning, breathtaking, awe-inspiring, atmospheric, romantic and rugged to name but a few.
If you only have a limited time it can be tricky to decide which part of Ireland you’d like to see. I think we just about managed to have a bite size chunk at everything from the rugged coastline to the bustling city, so in the next couple of posts I’ll share some of our journey to give you some inspiration for yours.
Within most of my travel posts, I often try to impart the personal connection, or personal discovery associated with the our chosen destinations. Often though we try new destinations and create new ‘meaningful’ places in our lives.
Our trip was spurred on by a combination of all of the above. Neither of us had ever been to Ireland, but we knew it was a place we just had to visit. Peter’s ancestors on his father’s side were the O’beirnes located in Rosscommon so we were keen to see if we could incorporate a few hours out of itinerary to visit the County and discover any old names on the gravestones or in the Church records. I also have links to Ireland, though at this stage they are a little more tenuous. I am currently researching my Family Tree and have found evidence of my great grandparents marrying in Ireland. At this stage I’m trying to find out whether my great grandmother was Irish. So plenty to get excited about, let alone familiarising ourselves with some of the nooks and crannies of this stunning island.
My next posts will introduce you to Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Kilkenny, Kinsale and Rosscommon – all very different, all with their own charm. I’m not giving away my favourites to you just yet, but suffice to say we very definitely left a little bit of our heart Ireland.
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