52 Ancestors – 52 Weeks

The writing prompt for Week 20 is “Travel.” I have written about several of my ancestors who traveled from Ireland to Canada and the United States in previous posts. Therefore, I decided to write about my first trip to Ireland.

My “Irish Experience” began in 2004 when my long-time friend Mary I decided we wanted to vacation in Ireland. Both of us are of Irish ancestry and we had family and friends who had traveled to Ireland. We projected a travel date in 2008 – a long time to wait! We wanted to pay for the trip and have spending money before we traveled. So for almost four years we each saved $50 from our bi-weekly pay checks and were able to make our trip in 2008. We waited a long time for this trip!

In May 2008 I contacted a AAA travel agent to get suggestions for our trip. We decided to go with Trafalgar’s “Irish Experience,” a 10-day guided tour. We left Madison, Wisconsin for Chicago’s O’Hare airport on September 13, 2008 and landed in Dublin, Ireland on September 14, 2008. And so began our Irish Experience.

When we landed at Dublin airport we were very thirsty and looked for a place to purchase bottles of water. After looking around and finding no water to purchase we found a smoothie stand but no water. I asked the sales person if we could get a glass of water. He said he could give us water out of the “tub.” I told him that was fine. The tub was a sink with a faucet. I thanked him and told him that I would remember him as the first kind Irishman I met. He said he was Polish as were all the other kids working the stand.

At the time we arrived in Ireland the country was on the verge of an economic recession. However, the skies were full of cranes where building was going on, many eastern Europeans had moved to Ireland for jobs and better lives, unemployment was down and investors were interested in Ireland because of its low taxes. Life was good until the fall of 2008.

After we got our water, we found a representative of Tralfalgar Travel. The meeting was just like you see on TV, a man was holding a sign that said “Trafalgar Tour.” We were on our way!

The first night in Dublin was a rough one. We crashed into our beds right after dinner. After what seemed like a very short time Mary woke me and told me to get up and get ready for our first day of touring Ireland. We both showered, dressed and were ready to put our luggage out in the corridor to be picked up and put on the tour bus. I looked out the window before we put our luggage out and noted that it was quite dark for 8 a.m. We decided to check Mary’s watch and much to our surprise it was actually 1 a.m. in Dublin. Mary asked what we should do and I told her we needed to go back to bed! I could not be upset with her as I had not brought a watch with me. I don’t wear a watch and knew she would wear hers and be our timekeeper. We had a good laugh the next morning when we related the story of our night with our tour mates.

In the morning we were met by Sheila O’Higgins, our Trafalgar tour guide. She has that creamy, soft skin you see on older Irish women. Her strawberry blonde hair complimented her skin tones. She of course had the Irish brogue. We soon found that she was a no-nonsense type of person and that we would be “stepping to her music” while on the tour. We soon found out that Sheila was quite the storyteller, reader of poetry, player of music and comedy. Under her tough exterior beats a heart of gold.

There were 51 people on the tour, including Sheila and the bus driver.The majority of people were from Ontario province Canada with others coming from British Columbia, South Africa, and the U.S.

We traveled the perimeter of Ireland. From Dublin we traveled to Belfast, Giant’s Causeway, and Londonderry in Northern Ireland, the Belleek factory, Connemara, Galway City, Kylemore Abbey, Ring of Kerry, Killarney, Blarney, the Waterford factory, Kilkenny, New Ross, County Wiklow and back to Dublin, where we departed on day 11 and arrived home on day 12.

One of my favorite stops was Londonderry (called Derry by locals) in Northern Ireland. Tourism was just taking hold in Northern Ireland and we were one of Sheila’s first groups allowed to enter the country without having our passports checked by government officials.

As we entered the city across Craigavon Bridge, the first thing we saw was the Hands Across the Divide monument. This striking bronze sculpture of two men reaching out to each other symbolizes the spirit of reconciliation and hope for the future of the Irish people. The monument was unveiled in 1992. I found the monument very moving because of the symbolism of its design. I can still vividly remember it 12 years later.

We were met by two residents of Derry who acted as our tour guides for the day. Carolyn, probably in her 40s, gave us a guided tour of the city from the bus. With a distinct melancholy tone in her voice, Carolyn told us stories about her experiences living through “the troubles.” [“The Troubles” refers to the three-decade conflict between nationalists (mainly self-identified as Irish or Roman Catholic) and unionists (mainly self-identified as British or Protestant).] Wikipedia

Carolyn recalled times when the British kicked in the door and threw tear gas canisters in her family’s home. Her father was taken into custody by the British for questioning more than once. Her boyfriend was sent to prison for a war crime he said he did not commit. She later found out that he had committed the crime and the knowledge of his actions shook her to her core. To escape the misery, Carolyn’s mother brought Carolyn and her three siblings to live in the United States for a time. And Carolyn knew children and adults who had been killed in the friction. It was indeed a dark time in Ireland.

Roland McNamara took us on a walking tour of Derry. His mother is Chinese, father Irish and he is a Buddhist. He was working with peace groups in Northern Ireland to make life better. We walked with him in the areas of the city where there had been fighting in the streets and people had died. We saw bullet holes in the sides of buildings and barbed wire fencing on top of stone walls, all reminders of the troubles. We saw a number of murals painted on buildings protesting policies by the British against Catholics (in which Protestants were exempt), as well as poor social conditions and the lack of economic opportunity open to them. The murals were being painted over with more serene artwork. Many residents of Derry believed that the murals should have been left intact as a reminder of what they had been through during this period in history. However, the British government that rules Northern Ireland overturned the residents wishes and mandated that the murals depicting the troubles be destroyed. That process was underway while we were there.

Three of the twelve murals of Derry

I also enjoyed seeing the sights and sounds of the “Wild Atlantic Way” on the west coast of the island. We enjoyed fresh seafood and the smells and sounds of the Atlantic Ocean. I remember standing on the shore of the ocean and imagining how it must have felt for my ancestors to stand there so many years ago imagining what life would be like in North America. As far as I could see there was only water and sky.

Mary and I bent a some of Sheila’s rules by sneaking off a few times to do our own thing. We love shopping and were waiting eagerly to check out shops. On the third day of traveling we went to Giant’s Causeway. We were directed by Sheila to follow the path to the Causeway and spend some time enjoying the scenery. The weather that day felt like winter in Wisconsin, cold and windy. We were not dressed for the weather so we took a detour to the shop and never did see the Causeway. (I have seen pictures of it and will put one of them below!) Sheila did make a comment to us that she noticed we were MIA.

At Blarney we decided to skip kissing the Blarney stone and snuck off to the Blarney Woolen Mill shop. I told Mary we could tell people we kissed it; no one would ever know!

I had one unfortunate incident happen to me in Galway City on day six of the trip. We were given time to ourselves to tour the sights of the city. It was a beautiful fall day and the area where we were was filled with people. We stopped and had lunch and then ventured out to explore the city. We walked a short distance and I looked down at my purse to discover that my wallet was missing. We went back to the cafe where we had lunch and asked about my lost wallet. They had not found it. I have to say a bit of panic built up in me. All my money was gone as well as my driver’s license, credit card and ATM card. We found Sheila and reported what had happened. She immediately asked if my passport was stolen and I reported that it had not been. She took us to a hotel where she called the Garda (police) and had me call my credit card companies at home. I remember the the Garda well. Up drove a car labeled “Garda” and out of the car got two young adults, male and female, with no weapons. They took my report and there was nothing else to do but get back on the bus and move on.

Two of our tour mates came to my rescue. A gentleman from Texas offered to loan me $200 in American money and an anonymous person gave me $50. Mary offered to charge my purchases and said I could repay her when we got home. So here I was in a foreign country; no money, no credit cards. However, because of the kindness of Sheila and my tour mates I was able to enjoy the remainder of the trip.

Finally, I’d like to tell you about something that happened that really made me feel at home in Ireland. We were driving down a freeway when I saw on the side of the road a large sign (green with white letters like here). On the sign were the words “Safe Home” (Slán abhaile) in English and Irish. I was struck by this sign because “Safe Home” was part of our family traditions. I would call the term an Irish blessing. My mother would always say “safe home” when anyone traveled from her home to their home. Her exact words were, “Like Sister Erigina would say, safe home.” Sister was my mother’s aunt. Sister’s mother had been born in Ireland and emigrated to the United States in 1880. She married a fellow Irish man and together they raised three children. Sister was one of those children and my mother was her granddaughter. [The words “safe home” appears on official signs on roads leaving a town or village to encourage drivers to drive safely from town to town.] When I returned home I found a sign with the English and Irish terms “Safe Home.” I have it displayed over my front door so that as people leave my home they will receive that Irish blessing.

I felt like I was “home” while I was in Ireland. I loved the people and the beauty of the landscape. I made a second trip to Ireland in 2017 on a self-guided tour with another friend. I don’t think I can ever get enough of Ireland!

Before I have you view a few pictures of Ireland I want to provide a “footnote” to the theft of my wallet. In January 2009 I received a large envelope from the Garda in Galway. It smelled musty and I immediately knew that it was my wallet. Sure enough, someone had turned in the wallet to the Garda and they were kind enough to return it to me. The only thing that was stolen was my cash; the driver’s license and cards were still in the wallet!

Below are pictures I took in Ireland and from the internet to give you a “feel” of the Emerald Isle, Ireland. The pictures cannot capture the beauty of Ireland. You have to see it to believe it! There are more shades of green in Ireland than you can ever imagine! Enjoy!

Had to take a picture of this door on a nightclub because the song “Mustang Sally” was a favorite dance tune of mine at home.