A week in Ireland

Just spent a week over in Ireland. Flew from Newquay in Cornwall to Dublin using the south west's own cheap airline AirSouthwest, only cheap if booked in advance. First went down to Kilkenny to visit relatives and had a nice couple of days chatting to my aunt and cousins. Found out that my aunt who is now over eighty has recently completed a degree in history at Kilkenny university, there is hope for us all!!

Found out more about the ancestors and a monument called 'The O'Connor Stone' that marks their grave in Balinasloe in Co Galway. It is an impressive celtic cross over 15ft tall with the names of 3 generations carved upon its base. The oldest is that of Michael O'Connor who died in 1891 and was/is my great-great-grandfather. One of my sisters (Sheelagh) started tracing the geneology of our family some years ago and has already discovered this ancestor, so nothing new but it really is an impressive monument which was made by his sone who were stone cutters along with most males in the family until my grandfather decided that it was too hard a life and insisted on his sons getting educated and doing something easier.

The O'Connor Stone

After a quiet couple of days in rural Ireland it was time to hit the big city - Dublin. Back in 2000 I worked there for six months installing the third mobile phone network for Meteor. Had a great time and met some really nice, although somewhat strange, people and have kept in touch. It was these that I visited last weekend. Started off with a Dublin Coddle made by Dereks wife Gaye, as usual it was delicious. Followed by a quiet night in the Bently, which is a pub called The Black Forge, so why everyone still calls it the Bently I do not know. Caught up on news and happenings with them and Jim, heard all about their escapades in Turkey where they go every year with most of the pitch and putt club. I will have to join them one year as it sound like a blast. Derek's son Gavin had been in town and actually queued up for half an hour for a Borat swimming costume, not sure he should have though.

The Irish Borat

Saturday night, after watching the Irish beat the Scots in the rugby, we hit the Temple Bar area of the city. For those that do not know Dublin Temple Bar is the area where most of the weekend hen/stag parties go to. You get people from all over the world there. That night there were a lot of scots there in kilts not sure why as the rugby match was played in Edinburgh. As usual it was very busy with some bars being full before 8pm, although with all the bar hopping going on they usually allowed more people in later. One bar we went to, The Quayes, had a bouncer on one door stopping people from entering whilst the door to the bar next to it had no-one stopping entry. Not unusual you might think except that inside the two bars were connected and you could walk freely from one to the other. A very Irish solution!!!

Met up with crazy Jonny, Derek and Gaye as well as Gibbo, a friend I first met in Frankfurt when I worked there in '99. John is one of those people that is great fun to be around, everything has a bright side when he is there and the Guinness and the laughs flowed freely. John cannot whistle, although I once witnessed him being thrown out of a pub for pretending to. He puts his fingers in his mouth to simulate the whistle and Derek ducks behing some people for cover and does the actual whistling. All people see id John with his fingers to his lips and he gets the blame. You gotta be there have a few inside of you, believe me it has had me many a time.

Gaye, Me, John and Gibbo

Sunday was a quiet day, watched the Chelsea v Spurs game had a wonderful dinner ay Derek's then went to the Bently for the England v france rugby international. For the first, and what will probably be the only, time I heard a pub full of Irishmen in Dublin cheer on England at any sport. Very wierd. Reason being that once England beat france it left the championship open for Ireland to win. We all now know they didn't, but only because in their next match the got greedy and went hunting for more points after the 80 minutes were up and gave the ball away to the Italians for them to score a converted try. Eventually losing the title to france by a points difference of 4.