A Bit O' Blarney

“Spring Forward”

It’s hard to believe that Eric and I have already been in Ireland for six months, halfway through our Irish residency and a third of the way through our European adventure. It’s a reminder to make the most of our time here.

A Last Winter Trip: In early March, it was very much still winter. But our plan was always to periodically fly south to escape the cold. So, when Eric proposed a trip to Tromsø, Norway (same latitude as Siberia), I had to question where our communication went wrong. He explained that Tromsø was one of the best places in the world to see the northern lights. Hmmm…I hate that kind of argument. Despite my grumbling about going from cold to cold-er weather, the northern lights did not disappoint. It really was a bucket-list experience.

Tromsø is a town right out of “Frozen” – set in a fjord, snowcapped mountains surrounding the town on every side, permanent frost on the ground. To live up there, you also need survival skills, which is why Norway dominates Olympic sports like biathlon. Eric is part Norwegian, so I think we should take up cross-country skiing, adopt a reindeer, and start spelling our name Frøm, just to be cool.

More Nooks and Crannies: One of the daily joys of living in Ireland is that we’re constantly discovering new gems in the country.

We recently took a trip to Achill Island/Keem Beach north of us. It’s rugged and cinematic, so it’s easy to see why they chose it as one of the locations for “Banshees of Inisherin”.

What was even cooler was having Ger and Roxanne, friends from Kerry, take us to nearby Corraun Peninsula, a sparsely populated area in the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) region. Both Ger and Roxanne are in film production, and they took us to the secluded location where Ger spent months filming “My Sailor, My Love,” a smaller movie filmed at the same time and in the same area as “Banshees”. It was like going to their secret part of the world.

We dropped in unannounced (this seems to be the Irish way) to say hi to Carmel and Alex, owners of the house where the movie was filmed, only to find them on their hands and knees amid construction and painting. Despite the imposition, they enthusiastically welcomed us and graciously showed us around their home, an old building in disrepair that they’re restoring and converting into a lovely B&B. They’re doing almost all the restoration and remodel work themselves. It’s a special place off the tourist track, originally built by a grandson of Charles Dickens, that has sweeping views and is full of character and old-world charm (but with modern plumbing and large bathrooms –a rare find!).

It’s pretty common practice in Ireland to name houses, so this is Corraun House. Our house is Rosbeg Gate Lodge (gatekeeper’s lodge), so the name doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a fancy estate. But Frøm Manor does have a nice ring to it!

After being transported to bygone days by the rural landscape, we went to lunch, where an ultra-modern robot delivered our food — an amusing contrast.

Social Update: We got a lot of responses to our last blog about not being able to get an Irish “date”. We got some insight and advice from Ger, our go-to Irishman. Eric’s first-date theory was apparently not far off. The idea of “dinner” to Ger sounded too formal, something for the aristocracy, and too much of a commitment. He would feel pressure to dress up and bring a bottle of wine and be obliged to reciprocate, so the answer to a dinner invitation would just be “no”. His advice was to re-position it as a very casual, drop-in affair. Duly noted.

We have been looking for activities to meet locals. The most popular sports in Ireland are Gaelic football, hurling, and rugby, and then there are Gaelic sports like camogie and rounders. So, yeah, pickleball anyone? To our surprise, there actually is a pickleball club in town with about 30 participants. They’re all Irish, and they rotate teams every 10 minutes, which makes it easy to get to know everyone. It might not be dinner, but every Monday night we have a pickleball date with 30 Irish people.

Eric also went golfing with an American, John, who we met in town. It was Eric’s first time on a true links course (one built on coastal sand dunes, i.e., inhospitable terrain), which Eric says was both beautiful and brutal. In line with Mark Twain’s famous quote, “a good walk spoiled,” he lost 11 golf balls while hitting into 50 mph gusts. Yet Eric still managed to have some good craic.

☘️Paddy’s Day☘️: One of the biggest events of the year in Ireland is, of course, St. Patrick’s Day, which we were excited to experience. We skipped the big Dublin revelry and opted to experience Paddy’s Day the way the locals do. Like almost every small town in Ireland, Westport had its own parade, which was festive, leprhechany, and very much a family affair. I unfortunately did not feel well, which kept us from participating in the all-day pubbing that ensued afterward. I didn’t drink but felt like I ended up with a hangover anyway. Despite that, it was a great cultural experience. Here’s to the great patron saint of Ireland! Sláinte!

March brought Paddy’s Day, Easter, daylight savings, and lambing season, so spring has officially sprung! (Of course, it still rains most days, but it does it with a better attitude!)

We hug you tightly!

The Leprechauns ☘️

P.S. For those of you who watched “Irish Wish”, we sincerely apologize. It was a terrible movie. But our town of Westport had a great cameo.

The home page shows blogs for the most recent three months. To view previous posts (going back to October), scroll all the way to the bottom of this page and click the Previous Post month.