Sitting in our hotel room at Carrickmacross, about 1 1/2 hrs north-west of Dublin. It is grey and misty outside and the lights in the streets and window displays are beginning to come on...3.30pm! The major topic when the Aussies first came together in this hotel was the early onset of darkness and the late arrival of daylight causing havoc with all our body clocks.
A pleasant though long flight from Melbourne with a 2hr stopover in Doha. We were amused by the central feature of the airport. A giant teddy bear that apparently symbolises the curiosity of childhood which in turn includes a fascination with Space. Arrived in Dublin 12.30pm Sunday. Green grass, white sheep and rendered homes near the airport signalled that we were not in Oz. Wanting to stay awake until the evening, we wandered down to the River Liffey and along the banks to the popular Temple Bar precinct. Busy with shoppers and tourists. Lana had asked us to check whether the coffee shop that she worked in during her stay here in 2004 was still there in Duke St, just off the major pedestrian mall of Grafton St. No...West Coast Coffee seems to have faded away. Lots of buskers and more shoppers before we returned to our hotel to meet Gary who had arrived the night before.
After a re-fresh, a quick chat to the concierge directed us to "O'Sheas Bar" at the next crossroad for a meal. A medium- sized pub with all the atmosphere one expects from an Irish establishment. Two drinks and hearty meal later the three of us agreed to call it a night. Looked at my watch. Good Grief it is only 7.10pm!! It had been dark since 4pm.
Next day we picked up a hire car and headed north. Fortunately the roads were quiet due to the holiday period, so exiting Dublin was relatively calm for our driver, Gary. On the way to the bride's hometown of Carrickmacross we were to pass by the ancient domed mounds of Newgrange, a site we had visited in 2004. We knew that Gary would find them fascinating so we dropped in. A bit more developed 15 years later and we had to wait for an available spot in a tour. Consequently we had lunch at the café and joined the 2.15 group. The chamber and its Celtic symbols carved in the grand boulders was still memorable, especially under the grey Irish mist. The River Boyne was a mini torrent and being aware of the fire crisis in Oz we envied the gushing flow of water.
Finally arrived at The Shirley Arms Hotel, our abode for 2 nights. Greeted by brother Col at the foyer and immediately started to take in familiar faces standing in the large comfy bar. Changed into lighter clothing in order to cope with the warm interior temperature and joined the merry throng. More familiar faces filtered in until we were nearly our complete contingent of 30-ish. Finger food was welcomed as one moved around the crowd. A fun start to the celebrations.
Today( Tues 31st) was a calm start over breakfast with a few of the youngies a little worse for wear. Tony had expressed an interest in the history of the town to Amy's father the night before and lo and behold Dick was quick to arrange a friend to take any interested persons on a walking tour at 11am. A suitably rugged-up group of 15 or so greeted him. One claim to fame is the Carrickmacross lace, brought to world-wide notice as the style of lace on Kate Middleton's wedding dress sleeves!
Not sure what is happening tonight, New Year's Eve, as tomorrow is the Big Day.
Hope that you all saw the New Year arrive in your own happy method of choice and a HUGE Happy Birthday to our far-away youngest, Lana. xxx
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| The Doha Bear |
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| Too early for a dram, Mark. |
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| Grafton St busy at 3pm Sunday |
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| First aperatif in Ireland |
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| Outside the 5000 yr old ritual chamber. The jury is now undecided as to whether they were ever intended to be burial sites. |
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| A repeat of a photo from 2004. |
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| One can see where the now- popular Celtic designs originated. |
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| An appealing ( for me!) window display in Carrickmacross. |
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| Main St |
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| That lace. |
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| Main St. |
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| Our lodgings. |
