“A light appears in spring
Not present on the year
At any other period –
When March is scarcely here.”
– Emily Dickinson
I am thrilled that March is now here. I love all the functions that have to do with St. Patrick’s Day. We always wear green on the holiday, of course, so that we won’t be pinched by a leprechaun. I didn’t find that fact until I read it last year in the Boston Globe Magazine.
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I still have not attended any planned functions since the snow began in early February so I am repeating and reliving my trip to Ireland:
“A Diary of Our First Irish Vacation” – 2
(Reprinted from The Boston Irish Reporter of August 1994.)
On Wednesday, we drove to perhaps the most scenic part of the trip. We began with a photo of our group taken at Aghadoe Heights, with the lowest of Killarney’s lakes, Lough Leane, in the background. We stopped at Macken’s Store, where we were served Irish coffee as we shopped. (I declined the drink, since I needed all my faculties to resist buying the store’s beautiful goods.) Then, armed with all the information that our guide David had given to us, we stopped at Slea Head overlooking Inch Beach, where the movie “Ryan’s Daughter” was filmed. The day was clear enough that we were able to see the Blasket Islands, the last outpost of Ireland – the next stop being Boston. We stopped at an old church, which contained “the eye of the needle,” where those who could slip through the slim opening were judged “free from sin.” I opted not to try this until I had made a hurried visit to Jenny Craig. Hubby got almost all the way through, but couldn’t get his head through the top of the opening. As we left the church, group members Joyce and Jim shouted that they had found the ruins of St. Brendan House just up the road. Since the World’s Greatest Grandson is named Brendan, up the road we ran to get a few photos.
For lunch, we chose Harrington’s Restaurant in Dingle so that we could take a photo of the name to show pals Nancy and Harry that we had eaten in their family’s place. Then we visited a Family Name store and got a coat of arms parchment for a cousin as a Christmas gift.
Thanks to all the information given by David, we knew just what to expect at our next stop, the Rock of Cashel, which was the seat of the kings of Munster for 700 years. The film presentation was excellent. Then we went outside where we took lots of photos in among the Celtic crosses. The view from the Rock was awe-inspiring as we overlooked hundreds of plots of land in more than “forty shades of green.” We left Cashel and stopped at the Castle Arms Hotel Restaurant for lunch. Then we were off to the Burlington Hotel in Dublin, perhaps the loveliest of all the hotels on the trip. In the elegant lobby, ablaze with at least four crystal chandeliers, we met members of our group for “coffee and” – a delightful way to end a full day of exploring.
The next morning, we toured St. Patrick’s (Protestant) Cathedral, which has probably the most beautiful stained-glass windows I have ever seen. (Hubby took quite a few photos.) Then we visited Trinity College, where we viewed – very quickly, because of the large crowd – four pages of The Book of Kells. (Each day, the pages are turned, so that they will “weather” evenly.) We had already seen several pages when they came to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston a few years ago. A trip to the excellent gift shop at Trinity College capped our visit. (We picked up a book on St. Brendan the Navigator so that we could give it to our grandson.)
That afternoon, David left us on our own in Dublin, which reminded us so much of Boston. (He warned us to be careful of crime in the area.) We stayed mainly on Grafton, O’Connell, and Nassau Streets, where most of the shopping is done. We took photos of the statue of Molly Malone. We visited Switzer’s, Laura Ashley, even Tower Records. We saw McDonald’s, Burger King, and even Dunkin’ Donuts, where we stopped for coffee. On an excellent tip from a pal, we ate at Bailey’s Restaurant, which was filled with tourists. Hubby was delighted with their roast beef dinner. We also had to visit the Bewley’s Store to buy some tea to bring home. We were so surprised that behind the small front shop where their teas and coffees are sold, there is a huge restaurant where hundreds of people were eating cafeteria-style. Instead of walking back to the Burlington Hotel, we enjoyed a ride on a double-decker bus, having been given the bus route numbers by David.
That night, our group went to the wonderful Doyle’s Irish Cabaret at the hotel. It proved to be an evening of laughter and song. There will be a little more about our trip to Ireland in next week’s paper.
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How delighted I was to hear of the safe arrival of Raegan Olivia Noone on Sat., Feb. 21, at 11:11 p.m. Raegan is the daughter of Caitlin and Daniel Noone. She was quite early but weighed in at 7 lbs, 4 oz, and is 20 inches long. This is the second grandchild in recent days for Susan Ahern and her husband Michael of Plymouth, and Frank Hughes and his wife Wendy of Clinton, MA. They join in sharing the joy of Raegan’s birth with Dan’s parents, Marius and Kathleen Noone of Tornabratley, Clomany, Co. Donegal, Ireland. Raegan and her first cousin, Finnbar Thomson, son of Lauren and Keith, were born just 31 days apart.
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Thanks to “On Demand,” Hubby, daughter Sue, and I caught up, with the latest couple of episodes of “The Wahlbergs.” One of the segments showed some of the family bowling at Boston Bowl on Morrissey Blvd. Brother Paul, the family’s chef, threw a strike on his final ball. Another segment showed Mom Alma Wahlberg having lunch with Dan Wood, “New Kid” Danny Wood’s father. I love to see that the “Kids” still do fundraisers for cancer victims. (Dan’s wife/Danny’s Mom Betty died from cancer.)
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I loved seeing Ben Tankle on TV the other evening. Ben was owed $340 from an insurance policy that his mother, who had passed away 15 years ago, had taken out 40 years ago. Ben had sent in her birth certificate, her death certificate, her burial plot number, and even photos from her wedding. Despite this evidence, the Treasury Department wanted a bill with his mom’s address 40 years ago. He was at a dead end. He wrote to “Solve it 7.” Ch. 7 checked with John Hancock to see if they had the address that was needed. The insurance company gave the Treasury Dept. the address that was necessary and Ben finally received his $340. He looked great in the segment that was shown on TV. Enjoy the windfall, Ben!
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This was a great quote from Indira Gandhi: “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”
