A Bit O' Blarney

“New Digs, Same Sheep”

Glenbeigh, County Kerry, has been a great place to be for the last several months. It’s wild, rugged, picturesque, and isolated. Eric claims to have liked the isolation because he “doesn’t like people”. 😉 We’re both glad to have had the experience of living someplace very culturally different. It is after all an adventure! It has been a gift to be able to experience the natural beauty of Ireland in such quiet serenity. Thankfully, January brought colder, drier weather, which allowed us to venture farther afield and really enjoy our last month there.

Adventuring in Kerry: After a day of light snow, we decided to go on an excursion through a mountain pass called the Ballaghbeama Gap, known for its otherworldly beauty. Since Eric is practically Canadian, I trusted his instincts when it came to driving in the snow. What I didn’t realize was that, as the road became steeper and narrower, his inner Canadian was telling him, “this is bad”. The point at which our tires started to momentarily lose traction Eric had the sense to abandon our mission. The problem was we were on a one-lane road only a foot wider than our car on either side. There was a gully on one side of the road and a 40-foot cliff on the other. For a moment there, I was worried we were on the ill-fated Shackleton expedition. I had to get out of the car to help Eric make an 11-point turn to head back downhill. But we eventually succeeded and later made it over the pass in better weather. The scenery was beautiful, and it was well worth the trip (both times!).

We also explored the scenic Iveragh Peninsula and Valentia Island at the southern tip of Ireland. As we were driving, we were stopped in our tracks by a sign, “Birthplace of Globalisation”. You can see why this made us chuckle.

This did, however, pique our curiosity. It turns out this was the site of serious technological innovation – the first transatlantic undersea cable connecting Valentia Island, Ireland ☘️, to the town of Heart’s Content 💗, Newfoundland. It allowed cross-continental communication to travel in minutes vs. weeks by ship. It’s considered to be the Victorian-era equivalent of the Apollo space program. (There is a proper museum to commemorate its history.) One advantage of living in Ireland vs. being a tourist is that we stumble upon such interesting tidbits in the most unexpected places.

Before we left Glenbeigh, we decided to do a mobile sauna on the beach, one of the few wintertime activities in the nearby town of Cromane. When we checked in, the owner told us to go back to our car and return in our togs (swimsuits). “You mean like sans jacket? All the way from the parking lot?” “Yeah, just yer togs.” Keep in mind that it had just snowed the day prior, and the wind was blowing. Isn’t the idea of a sauna to get out of the cold? Little did we know this was not the craziest part of the experience. Before hopping in the sauna, the nutty Irish go for a swim in the ocean (no wetsuit!), alternating between cold swim and warm sauna. We told our group of ladies they were out of their bloody minds, but they somehow convinced us to at least dip our legs into the sea, which was about 48 degrees. We’re talking painful pins-and-needles cold! They told us to tap the vagal nerve on the backs of our necks to prevent our bodies from going into shock. Does this not tell ye something? The Irish ladies of course thought we were wimps. They’re just a heartier bunch, the Irish.

Before heading out on our next journey, Eric tied up loose ends on his many house projects, and I completed my fairy house for the local community fairy trail.

Moving to “the Big Town”: We moved from a village of 400 people to Westport, a town of 6,000. As much as we loved our time in Glenbeigh, we were ready for a bit more civilization. Westport not only has better roads, and better (open) food choices and entertainment, but better ways to meet people and connect. Our Irish cottage is in an ideal spot on the outskirts of town. It’s a five-minute walk to a small area of town with a market and a few restaurants. It’s only a five-minute drive, 35-minute walk, to the main part of town and a 20-minute drive to a town of 12,000 people. (But lest we forget it’s Ireland, we’re still never more than five minutes from sheep 🐑 in any direction, at any time!)

Westport is not only a bigger town but it’s also farther north. We are just above Edmonton in latitude, which is why Eric, the Canadian, feels so at home. The good news with the northern latitude is that the sun sets late in the spring and summer (past 10 p.m. at the solstice). At least there’s some reward for enduring the cold, dark winter! 

We’re looking forward to spending time outdoors. We are on Clew Bay, which is said to have 365 islands, one for every day of the year. And we’re at the foot of Croagh Patrick (pronounced “crow”), a pyramid-shaped mountain named after St. Patrick. He is said to have fasted for 40 days at the summit in the 5th century like Moses on Mount Sinai. It’s considered a holy mountain that inspires thousands to make a pilgrimage to the top. The annual pilgrimage on Reek Sunday (“reek” meaning mountain) has been a tradition for at least 1,500 years. While we won’t be joining the 15,000+ people who climb on Reek Sunday, we will spend time on the mountain. Eric and I tested out the trail and climbed about a third of the way up. I’m inspired to make the faith journey, but I’m kind of a complainer when it comes to hiking, so this may require some prayer.

Now that we’re settled, we’re looking forward to exploring a new part of Ireland, building community, and serving here in some way.

We hug you tightly!
The Leprechauns ☘️