CÚIG GHRIANGHRAF-Ireland Day 4

After a restful night, we packed for the next leg of our trip and we said good-bye to our wonderful hosts Markie and Eamon.

We decided to get breakfast in the nearby town of Carlow, and we found a really great espresso spot. It wasn't just that the lattes and breakfast food was delicious, we loved the positive community building environment. On the wall was an aspirational message which in part expressed:
"...we want to help to build a positive space where people can come together, be convivial, and bring our town back to its happy place..."

There was a slate with post-it notes where you could purchase drinks for others and they could use the post-it note as a voucher for a drink. We opted to do that when we paid our bill. We really appreciated what this small business in the midst of a little town was trying to do to build community.

At breakfast we talked about our route possibilities to our final destination of Kinsale, a small fishing village south of Cork. We opted for the longer route with a stop at Hook Head Lighthouse in County Wexford.

We enjoyed walking around Hook Lighthouse. It's amazing that this structure is 850 years old. It reminded us of our times on the Maine coast.

When we departed, we noticed the ruins of a church several hundred kilometers down the road. After reading the inscription, we learned that Saint Dubhan, came to Hook Point from Wales in 452 A.D and established a monastery on this site. Saint Dubhan is believed to have lit the first warning beacon for ships on the point shortly after his arrival. This beacon had been maintained by the monks for 700 years until the current lighthouse was built. The English word for Dubhan is hook.

As we explored the ruins and found gravesites, some hundreds of years old and others relatively new, I reflected on the theme that this was a site where someone looked out for others. His mission and those who followed him was to keep others seafaring travelers safe, and his legacy remains.

We left this area and headed west past the city of Waterford where Waterford Crystal is made. We enjoyed the three-hour drive and we arrived in Kinsale late afternoon.

Kinsale reminded us both of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. It's a colorful, bustling fishing village of about 4,000 people. We've rented a flat above an art gallery. It's cheerful and open, and close to several pubs and restaurants.

After a short nap, we took a walk along the marina and then looked for a place to get dinner. We settled on a pub that was filling up quickly. Jim had fish and chips, and I opted for beef stew with Guinness. I decided that my stew seemed to be missing something: flavor. I told Jim that his stew was significantly better. What was missing in the food was made up in the drink as we enjoyed beers, and I had an Irish coffee.

We decided to wait to hear the performers, and I'm glad that we did. Two older Irish men played guitar and and English and American songs with several opportunities for audience sing-a-longs.
We made room for a couple who were standing near our table. They were very grateful that we made room for them. As it turns out they were educators from California. We told them that we were from Portland. They laughed because they assumed that we were locals because of our white beards.

We had a fun evening talking with them, making song requests and listening to the banter of the performers. It was fun to share the table with them.

It was totally on my romanticized bucket list to sit in a pub and sing Irish songs. I was envious of the performers, and I thought back to a time when I organized a Pete Seeger tribute concert in Maine. I loved the opportunity to be a song leader and to gather community to create something together. It makes me want to try that again. Who knows, maybe there will be space on this trip.

As I reflect on the experience of the day, my take away is summarized by another piece on that coffee house wall in Carlow:

"One of the basic cravings of humanity is to connect with each other. " Yes.Read more