Ireland...

Hello!!

Dad and I flew to Dublin on Monday the 30th of May. It is only an hour and 15 mins, which is nothing really! I got a stamp in my passport saying I was allowed to "land in Ireland for three months", and we were off! We caught the bus to the city, and found the hotel. We stayed right in the centre of Dublin, which was excellent. We walked everywhere, but that is quite easy to do in Dublin as the place is quite small and compact! I really loved the feel of the place. I felt quite at ease in Ireland all over really. I am sure it was a combination of the people and the scenery that made me feel that way.

The first day we spent at the National Archives talking to people in their genealogy service. The service is free, and very handy to have when you are a tourist! We were told that civil registration began in 1864 in Ireland, so before that it is quite difficult to progress. And the fact that the records office was destroyed in 1922 by a fire also does not help the process!!! We were also told that with so little information that we have on certain members of the family, it will be basically impossible to tell if the people we find are actually ours or not. I figured as much really, especially seeing as though in some cases we just have a name, a date and a vague place!! For instance, I would love to find out more about my ancestor called Patrick Maloney. He lived in County Clare and was born around 1821. That is all the information we have on him. Just to give you an example: the name Maloney is very popular in Clare, and so is the name Patrick. There are also a large number of variations to the name, as spelling was often phonetic back then. So in fact, it could be spellt Malone, Maloney, Molone, Moloney, Molony. You understand my problem?

Second day we went to the General Records Office. We figured we should be able to find a marriage record for dad's great grandparents, as their son was born in Dublin in 1881. I found their marriage record from April 1881 in an index and got a photocopy done of the record for about 2 Euros (about $4AUD). So we did have a little bit of success!!

On the Thursday Dad and I headed out of Dublin in our rental car westwards. The car company stuffed us around for three hours, but we took the opportunity to go back into Dublin city and we had a look for the house dad's great grandparents were living in when they got married. They had the same address, 16 Parnell Place, so Dad and I thought perhaps they were living in the same boarding house. We found the street, but number 16 had been replaced with a 1970s building and carpark. I had a feeling it would be too good to be true to find the original 1880s house there. But we walked the street that they would have walked, which made me feel even more connected to Ireland.

Our first stop after we finally had the car was County Roscommon. Some months ago now, I found, quite by accident, a second cousin of dad's on the internet. She had been in contact with a family in the town of Tulsk in County Roscommon who were apparently related to us. Anyway, we went to meet them. They were really lovely people. But, we still cannot work out how, or if we are in fact related!! But it was fantastic to meet them. They are farmers, and they have wonderful accents (I lurve the Irish accent). Which reminds me, the place we stayed the first night was a bed and breakfast dad had booked over the internet. They had a lovely home, a two storey Georgian place. We were the only ones staying that night. Anyway, the couple who owned the place had a six and a half year old daughter called Rachel. She was adorable!! She kept asking us all these questions about kangaroos, and me being in love with her accent, I kept making her talk! She was so sweet :-)

The next day we drove to the west coast, to Galway City. It was surprisingly busy!! There were traffic jams in the main street!! We headed out of Galway and headed towards Limerick. We found the Hunt Museum(!) in Limerick, which was a fine way to spend a couple of hours on a rainy rainy afternoon. By the way, it rained MOST of the time we were in Ireland, but we expected that really. :-) Made it difficult to take phots sometimes. I really wanted to be able to send the rain we saw to Australia, where they need it so badly. We stayed that night just outside Tipperary (It's a long way...) in a castle! Well, it was really a fortified house according to dad, but it was lovely. And fun to stay in a "castle"!!!

The next day we had a big day of driving ahead of us. We drove around the Ring of Kerry, which is an amazing road which takes you along the coast of County Kerry in the south west of Ireland. The secenery changes just about every second you are on the road. It was just breathtaking watching the scenery change - from coastline to farm land, every minute was a new experience. We stayed the night outside Cork in a place called Carrigtwohill, which is a small village with FOUR pubs in the main street. Dad and I found one and wandered in. I bought a Guinness for dad and a lemonade for myself. When you order lemonade in Irish pubs you do not get clear fixxy liquid. You get a rusty coloured liquid that tastes different from Sprite and the lemonades I am used to. I bought one for Scott so he could try it. But I really enjoyed it. And it is true, the Guinness does taste different in Ireland. I think they must put more preservatives in it for transport, as the taste of it in Ireland is much sweeter, less bitter.

Our second last day we drove back into Cork and out the other side to Blarney, to the famous castle. It is an amazing place, but again it was raining!! But dad and I climbed to the very top of the castle up these incredibly small and steep spiral stairs. Great views from the top. We saw the blarney stone. I didn't kiss it, as it was raining, and I know I will be back! And besides, I am sure I talk enough as it is!! Then from there we drove to a town about an hour from Dublin, as we had to fly out of Dublin the next day. We stopped at the Waterford Crystal factory, and had a tour. I was given a new appreciation of the workmanship that goes into the peices of crystal. They are not to my taste necessarily, but they are amazing when you see them being carved and engraved all by hand!!

Then it was on the plane back to London the next afternoon. I had such a lovely time with dad in Ireland. A real holiday. It is an expensive place, especially Dublin, but I will definitely go back.

My parents went home last Thursday night London time. I was in tears at the train station. I guess I just had this irrational fear that I would never see them again. No idea why, but I do miss them, just like I miss a lot of things. But, that will not bring me home to Australia, not just yet anyway. I am making a life over here at the moment. I do enjoy London. It gets me down sometimes when I am not working, like this week, but at the same time, I have an amazing opportunity that so many others would never have. I have the opportunity to live and work on the other side of the world, to travel, to meet people.

:-)