The other day I was trying to remember when my first real contact with Irish culture was. The farthest I could go back was to my first year of university, James Joyce being my first piece of Irish literature followed by Oscar Wilde, and then finding out that U2 were originally from Dublin. In my graduating year, I went to Italy to learn Italian and happened to have my first Paddy’s day there. It was a great experience! Needless to say everybody was drinking green beer.
At that time I had no idea that one day I would come to Ireland and fall in love with this absolutely stunning place. Only then did I find out that Irish beer was more likely to be a pint of the black stuff than the greenish half sized pint glass and no that did I realize that Ireland had much more to show than I thought.
Only a couple of days ago, while having dinner with an Irish friend of mine, did I understand why Irish people are famous for being great talkers and why you will never feel bored in their company. He made me laugh so much and I felt so at ease that when he asked me what made me like Ireland so much, I just couldn’t help talking and talking: the people, the music, the dance, the food, the green shades, the history, the folk, the literature, the culture, the poetry, the films, the theater, the pubs, the nightlife, the cities, the towns, the villages, the parishes, the sea, the coast, the lakes, the landscapes, the cuisine, the hurling, the Gaelic football and language, the Celtic mythology, the accent, the rugby, the weather, the festivals, the Summer, it being an easy place to get around and along in. Ireland is such a lively and friendly country that wherever you are, wherever you go, whoever you are with, people will always make you feel as if you were at home yourself.
Mind you, I haven’t been to many places around Ireland, but my friend reminded me that life is not about numbers, but about how well you live and enjoy it. And this is how my life has been in Ireland, a day-to-day pleasure.
Ireland & Me is a compilation of my life in Ireland and every Friday, from today, I’ll be bringing to you a new chapter of it. I hope I’ve gained some of the Irish wit and humor along the way to make my Ireland & Me a most enjoyable and pleasurable experience for you when you read about the day I witnessed how much potatoes they really eat; the Grand Slam day (Oh Lord! That was exciting!); the first laugh with Tommy Tiernan, Father Ted; the cutest little kids in ‘Give up all yer sins’; the simple Waking Ned Define, the Commitents; and much much more…
Next week I’ll bring you a bit of the Cork Jazz festival and the wonderful time I had in Kinsale.
Oh, and soon a brand new experience - swimming in the Irish Sea! That is going to be so much fun!! And cold!!! Oh gosh!
Hope you have a lovely weekend when it comes, let me know how it was.
Le Grá…
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