High in the sky
On the morning of July 24th, Caitlin and I awoke in our house in Battersea at around 3am, in order to catch a 3.30am taxi to the bus stop at Victoria Station. Our bus left at 4.02 am, and we travelled out to Stanstead Airport to make our flight to Cork, Tipperary, Ireland.
The bus ride took close to and hour and a half, but we managed to make it onto our RyanAir flight with time to spare. The plane ride was smooth sailing and, and we had landed and cleared Irish customs by about a quarter to 8. It was so beautiful flying in to Ireland, seeing all the emerald green fields, and the high, rugged cliffs on the edge of the sea. When we landed in the crisp morning air, and stepped out onto the tarmack, I felt an emotional Celtic-pang, you might say.
After some minor dramas collecting the hire car, and then making it drive properly (beware the reverse gear! Tricky!), we headed into Cork to look about the place. It is hard not to be taken by the immense green and the rolling hills as you drive into the city of Cork, and the city itself reminded me somewhat of cities in Victoria, Australia, that were settled at the time of the gold rush, but then also of Hobart, with the ships and the port on the River Lee, and the houses and shanties looking down over the water. I parked the car in Merchant Quay, and started to walk around the Cork streets- I loved the bright coloured walls of the stone houses that lined the river, and the quaint little brigdes that crossed it. We made to St. Finn Barrès Anglican Cathedral; the cathedral and it's surrounding gardens were high up on a hill overlooking Cork. From here we could see many houses and ships, and people making their way through the narrow little streets.
After a couple of hours in Cork, we decided to head to the town of Blarney, which is very close to Cork, and visit the Blarney Castle- it was quite an adventure just making our way out of the town (it was as though we had to do a completed circle of the city to get on the road out, even though we were back at the place where we had to turn to begin with! No logic! Very Irish!)- but it was so worth it! Hills, fresian cows and the heavy purple clouds juxtaposed with the bright green pastures made for a magnificent view of the horizon. We arrived at the Blarney Castle just as the heavens opened up, and we had to sit in the car for about ten minutes, waiting for the storm to pass.
Upon entering the Blarney Castle gardens, there was a trio of young female muscians playing flutes and violins, and it was so gorgeous- made me want to start Riverdancing! Lucky for everyone I maintained some self control and got a grip of my Lovely Leggy Moira alter ego!
The Castle itself is a remarkable structure- it astounds me how old it is, and I couldn't help but think about the people who lived there once upon a time. We started by looking in the dungeon, which really gave me the heeby-geebys, and decided not to enter too far down the formidable staircase...quite close by was an ancient watchtower, and we marvelled at the holes in the stone wall where the wooden stair case would've once been, and then wandered past the 'front facing facade' of the castle. We walked inside, and started to ascend the staircase, past the various castle rooms, and with each level we passed, the stair case became narrower and steeper, and one needed to clasp the thick rope to pull oneself up the stairs. Exercising extreme caution, we made it out onto the roof of the castle, which presented a stunnning view over the town of Blarney, and out over the Tipperary country side.
People were lining up- men, women and children- to kiss the famous Blarney Stone (purpose being, apart from saying that you did it, to increase/improve one's eloquence!) and to be honest, it looked a lot more complex and more frightening than I had imagined, and with Caitlin's vertigo in full force, we decided to make our way propmtly back down the exit steps (which were far less daunting that the ones we came up on!).
We walked around the Castle's surrounding gardens, and explored the druid ruins. It was sublime walking through the gardens and the ruins, past waterfalls and plants with the biggest, greenest leaves I've ever seen! It was a most magical space...I didn't see any faeries...but I felt their prescence!
By around 2pm, we thought it best to get on the road to Clonmel (which was then delayed slightly when I took a turn town a wrong exit and spend 20 mintutes reversing the hire car out of this narrow, painstaking driveway...Irish!! I could hear the leprachauns laughing to be sure!), which required going back to the centre of Cork, and then on the N20 towards Waterford. There were patches of rain here and there, but the gloominess did not take away from the scenary- the music on the radio was superb too- lots (actually most) of the tunes were 90s numbers- I nearly died and went to heaven when The Cranberries Dreams came on!
I followed the freeway until we reached the Clonmel turn-off, which took us on a scenic tour of the Irish countryside- and I was in bewildered awe of it's beauty! The natural beauty that I so love. Clonmel, Cashel and Tipperary is the land of my Ryan and O'Dwyer forebears, and I felt strong lineage pangs as we passed through the hills, and approached Clonmel. Just before we reached Clonmel, we stopped at a little village along the way, to use the loos and to sample pear cider in the exact district were Bullmers and Magners is made, and it was, as I suspected, delicious!
A bit after 5 o'clock, we rolled into the township of Clonmel, and found a quaint little pub to ask for directions to our B&B. The very friendly Irish lass behind the bar asked where we had parked, to which we answered the River Suir, and the directions she gave us were "Drive a straight line, go round a semi-circle, come to a T intersection, turn left, follow it, then take a narrow road up a hill"...no mention of street names, traffic lights, landmarks, what have you...(Irish!) but the instructions worked, and there, sure enough was Hillcourt B&B.
We were greeted at the door by the proprietor, this gorgeous little man who spoke Leprechaun at about a thousand miles an hour, who fed us freshly baked currant scones and served us hot black tea, and told us how nice it was to see our bright smiling faces! He said "Angela Ryan" a couple of times, shaking his head, and laughing to himself, and told us we were certainly in Ryan country, and invited us to watch the tele in his lounge- but of course, we decided to head into town for a Guiness.
There are so many pubs in Clonmel, let alone in the Republic of Ireland, and we wandered 'round the street, looking for a place to have a drink, and some cheap grub, and we decided to return to the place where we had asked for directions earlier that evening, and as I ordered a pint of Guiness for Caitlin and myself, there we saw (and the only other folks in the pub, mind you) four of my father's siblings, their partners, and my cousin Matt! Uncanny, I tells you...of all the pubs in all the town....We drank with them for a while, before heading to another pub to check out some Irish music, but this didn't last long- we were all exhausted, and needed to head home for the wedding the following day.
The proprietor of the B&B had asked us if we had wanted a cooked Irish breakfast the following morning before we had headed out for our Guiness, and if so, what time we were wanting to eat. Of course we said yes, and as a result were up and in the Hillcourt dining room around 8am, where we were served with a traditional Irish breakfast of cripsy bacon, fried potato and tomato, an egg, pork sausages as well as black and white pudding, with tea and orange juice on the side! It was truly scrum-diddily- and the proprietor assured us that our great-grandfather would have eaten this!
Following breakfast, we decided to make a dent in the unlimited millage on the hire car, and drive to the town of Waterford for a look about before the wedding. During the drive, we saw beautiful green hills, like the one's I love in Gippsland, and I felt very much at home in this part of the world- the scenary felt really familiar and comforting.
We drove through cute little villages, such as Mooncoin, and past a series of Castles and ruins. Waterford smelt of Guiness and the sea, and I was sad that we only had the chance to drive around for a little while before it was time to return to Clonmel, to get ready for the wedding in Kilsheelan at 2pm.
Kilsheelan is only about a 15 minute drive or so from the centre of Clonmel, and we found the beautiful blue stone church up on top of a hill without too much trouble at all. My first cousin Steve and his gorgeous bride Maria couldn't have chosen a more beautiful place to have been married- the church, the service and the surrounds were glorious. Following the reception, the Ryan and the Denton families gathered at the castle that my aunt, uncle and cousins (along with their partners and children) were staying at whilst in Ireland, for some pre-reception drinks, photographs, joke telling and much laughter. Caitlin and I drove to the reception with Steve's cousin Alice, where soon after champagne, we ate our three course meal (including fried mushrooms, vegetable soup, roast beef and vegetables as well as mashed and roasted potatoes! Of course!), listened to speeches and danced the night away...it was an incredible celebration, and am so glad that I was able to be a part of it!
We had left Clonmel by 11am the following morning, and decided to drive to the actual township of Tipperary, before taking the trip back to Cork. The drive was like nothing else I have known- the mountain range only kilometres from the centre of town, took my breath away. In the town of Tipperary, the names Ryan and O Dwyer -my grandmothers maiden name- were at the top of each music store, shopping centre and pub, and I felt I had returned home. Its a feeling I find hard to articulate, but whatever it was, I felt it from my eyeballs to my little toe nail.
The drive back to Cork meant many winding roads, quaint villages and castles along the way- my favourite definately being the Lismore Castle- I wish I-d had more time to spend there, and a place to which I will most certainly return! We arrived in Cork with plenty of time to spare, returned the hire car keys, and ordered a Guiness in the airport bar...and if the whole darn visa stamping issue had never have happened when we went to board the plane (meaning a delayed flight, 262 euro each flushed down the proverbial toilet, and a 2.30 am arrival home in London...oh so very painful), it would have been the best trip ever!
Ireland Forever x
