The Unexpected

A walking zombie that is how I felt on the afternoon of Monday June 7 after arriving in Ireland. I knew that I would be tired from traveling, and by loosing seven hours to my day. I did not anticipate, nor imagine, how exhaustion could effect my very being. I knew I was tired, but perhaps I didn't truly appreciate my tiredness, until we went into a Pub for lunch around 1:00, and as I was sitting listening to the conversation, I found myself in tunnel vision, and the next thing I knew my head snapped down and up. I had fallen asleep sitting in a Pub. We got back to our house, and I took a 2-hour nap which kept me up for a few more hours. A walk around the area we are staying in yielded a ruined fort. Loosing the battle to nature, the fort resembles a skeletal impression of what must have been an impressive building in its prime. Across the bay, stands a larger fortress, also decaying, though still very impressive. Both fortresses, we later found out from the locals, were built as watchtowers as the area we are staying in not only became one of the main places for immigrants to leave during the famine, but was also an area that lent itself to attack by enemies of the English. However, exhaustion took over, and I was in bed at a respectable 8:30 a good 12-hour sleep helped to relive some of my tiredness.

Our trip continues to surprise us, and for me, the most unexpected surprise is the friendliness, and willingness of the local Irishmen to treat visitors like part of their family. We were involved in a 4-car crash yesterday morning, in front of a small inn and pub, on a back road in Ireland, on our way to Kenmare a small, beautiful town in Count Kerry. We were hit from behind, hitting the car in front of us that hit the car in front of them. Luckily, no one was hurt. But even in this time of turmoil, the owner of The Welcome Inn and Pub, an elderly man, took care of everyone by asking all involved if he could make a cup of tea for them. Such a small gesture that hold tremendous significance. My grandmother is Irish. Her parents immigrated to the United States in the late 1890's. My grandmother, and my mother, always used to make tea for us when we were young and we sick. Tea, it seems, has great healing powers for the soul that is. We also received great kindness from the police (or Guard as they are called here), the tow truck drive who gave us a lift, and answered our tourist questions, and the rental agency. Everyone was kind and helpful.

Our day of kindness did not end there. We had reservations yesterday afternoon at Molly Gallivan's Traditional House and Farm. This is a farm that existed 200 years ago. As part of the farm, the owner will take you on a tour of the farm, and in the evening, you can reserve a spot to join in on a performance of an American Homecoming. I called the owner, Stephen, and told him about our accident. We wouldn't be in Kenmare on time to make the tour, but Stephen was adamant about making sure we made it to the evening dinner and performance. He assured me that he would work around our arrival, and he then mentioned that if there was anything he could do to help, we were to let him know. He even offered talking to the rental agency, because as he told me, He's Irish and all and could speak for me. This touched me deeply, this is a man whose never met, we've corresponded by email, but he didn't know what I looked like and yet he was willing to support me.

We did finally make it to Kenmare. We are staying at the Shelburne Lodge. I had called the owner earlier to tell her we would be late because of the accident. She greeted us with open arms, and sat us down in front of the fire, for yes, a cup of tea! We were then off to Molly Gallivanís. Kenmare is beautiful. While County Cork has rolling hills, sometimes steep, but always green, County Kerry has a more dramatic landscape. Jutting mountains with exposed rock and liken and sharp deep gullies. Molly Gallivanís Cottage is tucked away in narrow valley. The cottage is stunning. Resorted to its original state in the early 1990ís, this cottage is made of the local rock and has a thatched roof. This is they type of house that the typical Irish farmer would have lived in during the famine years. We were welcomed with open arms, and sat down to enjoy an evening of traditional Irish stew and entertainment. During the famine years, many Irishmen left their homes to travel to the United States to make money to send home to their families. On the night before they left, the villagers held an American Wake. This was a celebration of the member who was leaving, but it was also a farewell. It was an evening of coming together as a village, extended family to say goodbye. This was called an American Wake, because often times, these farewells were forever. However, on the rare occasion people did come home to Ireland, the villagers once again threw a celebration, this time, calling it an American Homecoming. And it was this homecoming that we experienced last night.

This much I learned. Deeply rooted within Irish culture is the love of story telling whether it be recitation, story telling with rhyme and rhythm, song, or just spinning a tale, the Irish use the power of story telling to bring family, friends, community members and strangers together. The Irish welcome all into their house, and as we sat by the fire last night, listening to the songs and stories of the past, I felt connected to the audience members and the performers. The Irish use the art of storytelling to explain hardships, celebrations and to describe important events and people in their lives. The stories we heard last night were funny, prideful and sad. We heard songs of immigration and what surprised me is that the songs had no malice in them towards the United States and ancestors leaving. In these songs, I got the impression that the Irish see the famine years and the subsequent immigration because of them, not as a time to be angry at, but they accept this part of their history but they accept it with a sense of sadness and longing for those of the past who had to leave their homeland. Yes, this was also unexpected.

We are returning to Molly Gallivanís today, to seek more knowledge.

Noel