IRELAND REVISITED

 

This trip was quite unexpected. The last time my friend Ken visited me in Prague was in the winter, before Christmas. During the three days we spent together, we spontaneously decided that I would come to Ireland to visit him sometime in future. 

To explain the background of the story, I have lived in Ireland for 7 years and left in 2010 under difficult personal circumstances. Since then, I have tried to forget about it as much as possible, for it reminded me of many unhappy moments. However, in the end, after I had successfully healed and psychologically freed myself from the past, I told myself that I should undergo something like a cleansing process and go there again, this time with an idea to erase all negative memories and replace them with positive ones.

So on June 28th, I set off for a week trip, just six months after Ken and I discussed it over beer in Prague. Ken picked me up in rainy Dublin airport and drove me to his house in Bagenalstown, where he had lived alone for several years with his cat Felix. I was very happy to see him again. 

The very same day we drove to Carlow to buy a light windbreaker that I didn´t have. We also drove through the city and to the house where I had lived a long time ago. It was not very pleasant to find myself there again and to stand in the same place that had been so traumatic for me, but this time I felt like nothing could hurt me anymore.  In the evening Ken invited me for dinner at a hotel in Leighlinbridge, at Lord Bagenal Inn. We had a nice meal and then we called it a night. 

The next morning we set off to Tramore Beach in Waterford, my favourite summer spot. I used to love to go here. The weather wasn't very kind to us as it was drizzling and the beach was covered in a haze. We went for lunch at a small seaside restaurant overlooking the beach, and when it started to drizzle, we ran inside to hide. There were a lot of people - considering how awful the weather was. The whole beach was alive with boys playing football, families with kids running around barefoot in the sand, and lots of dog walkers walking their pets, while the seagulls were flying over our heads. 

Luckily, the weather in Ireland changes quickly, so when we drove to Carlow to see Jim Hutton's grave, the sun was shining brightly. We arrived to the grave in Benekerry and put a candle and a stone with personal message on Jim's grave. I also bought a huge flower pot with beautiful begonias, thinking he would love it.

However, revisiting Jim´s house, which we eventually identified, was undergoing some kind of peculiar reconstruction and was no longer visible from the road. The new owner had closed off the road and had a wall and fence installed there. It was only thanks to curious Jim's neighbors, who were peeking in the garden (when they saw us sneeking around), who informed us that  his house had been bought by a person who had won the lottery and was probably renting it out now. If anyone does not know who Jim Hutton was - it was Freddie Mercury´s boyfriend of many years. The most important person in his life. I have had a chance to get to know him personally during my stay in Ireland. 

Jim Hutton´s grave with my old lantern (has been there 15 years) plus new plant, stone and candle

It was so beautiful and the sun was just setting in, shining on us like a mercy from God, so we took advantage of it and went on a trip around the area. Ken drove me through the beautiful rolling countryside around Mount Leister. Then he suddenly changed his mind and took me to visit his uncle Kieran. He owned a wonderful house in a large, well-kept garden. I was greeted by a small, bearded guy with glasses, who looked more like a cheerful American from Kentucky than an Irishman. His sister was doing something in the kitchen. The house was beautiful, with an open terrace to the garden, on which stood a small cottage with its own bar and seating. I could pour myself a glass of my own Guinness, while Kieran played eighties music at full blast and Ken threw darts at the target. I felt at home, among my own people. I always loved this about the Irish. Their friendliness and hospitality. Kieran showed us a small accommodation next to a bar where he had recently hosted some Texans. After about two hours of chatting we said goodbye and took off. 

me, drafting a pint of black milk 

Kieran, the Irish Lord of the Flies

back on the road

Ken drove us on through the hills and mountains until we reached Blackstairs mountain. The sun was just setting in and casting shadows on the valley below, while there was a bit of mist on the top of the hill. The mist then met the sun and created such a beautiful sight which I hadn´t experienced for a long time. Lonely sheep were grazing on the hills, quietly jingling their bells.  

In the evening Ken took me out to a pub for a game of pool. We went to Carlow and had a game. I hadn't played for ages and I wasn´t bad at all! 

The next morning we had breakfast and set off on the most challenging part of the trip as yet, a journey through Ireland to the North. We had planned to stop at a few places. The first of them was the royal and mystical place, the Hill of Tara, which once served as the burial place of Irish kings. Basically, it was just a few artificial hills. There was a monument on one of them, but otherwise there was nothing else to see, so we continued on our way. 

Queen of Tara

The next stop was Slane castle, where Queen played in 1986. Unfortunately, the gates to the castle were closed at the time, so we could only watch the area where the most famous Irish concert took place from the entrance gate by the road. Even so, it was an incredibly powerful experience. 

Slane Castle, in 1986 Queen played here

Then came a long journey north, to the town of Portrush. By that time, the sky had darkened and endless rain showers followed. It was pouring all the way to the north, and I kept thinking "damn, not this! not now!", but there was nothing I could do. You can't plan Irish weather. 

We arrived in the city, parked the car, and then ran through the streets with our suitcases like two wet chickens to find a hotel. It was funny because we first got the wrong hotel and went into another one with a similar name. Water was dripping off us in all directions. Luckily our hotel was just right next door.  It was a beautiful, stylish place, The PORT HOTEL. That same evening we went to The QUAYS, a pub next door for dinner, where we discussed our experiences from the whole day, tired as two dogs. Before going to bed I silently prayed that the weather would improve the next day, although I didn't have much hope for it. 

our splendid hotel The PORT 

When I woke up in the morning, I couldn't believe my eyes. The morning sun was shining outside and there was no sign of the rain! It was as if we had just turned up on another planet with the snap of our fingers. I was overjoyed, because the most important part of our trip was going to happen right here. It would have been terrible to do what we were going to do, with rainfalls falling down our heads. We had a rich Irish breakfast at the hotel, which gave us both energy for the rest of the day. 

                                                     

Then we set off towards DUNCLUCE CASTLE (which I write about in detail in a previous blog) and which I have believed  to be the place of my former existence. I attribute the two strongest experiences to a visit to this castle and then to White Rocks beach, which took my breath away. (Maybe it was because I was experiencing such strong feelings of Deja vu) The experience was completely surreal. You were standing in a place that only your soul knew. You had never been there in this life, yet every step felt like you had taken it a thousand times before. I didn't want to leave here, I would have preferred to die there that day, but we had to go. 

Dunluce castle, my home 400 years ago

                      

White rocks beach, the most beautiful beach on earth 

     

                      

Then we continued to Belfast to visit the TITANIC exhibition, however we didn't have time to visit Belfast itself, as the exhibition consumed most of our time. We entered a huge building that looked like a giant Titanic. It was all made of steel and glass. There was a view of the docks from which the Titanic set sail from Belfast for the first and last time in 1912. The entire exhibition was a thrilling spectacle full of visual and sound effects, photographic documentation and there was even a moving gondola that took you behind the scenes of the construction of Titanic. We sat in a cabin and were driven through a dark room where various lights shone from all sides, the sounds of hammers and the voices of workers could be heard. It transported you back into 1912. The subsequent exhibition, where the names of the victims, their photos and exhibits of violin or original life jacket were displayed, was a very emotional memento. Finally, a glass screen opened on the floor under our feet, on which the rusted wreck of the Titanic floated to the accompaniment of heartbreaking music. You had the feeling that you were standing on a surface of the ocean, looking into its bowels. It was a fascinating spectacle that hardly anyone will forget for the rest of their lives. 

that´s where Titanic was docked in 1912

Then we went to eat at a local canteen and after that we set off on our way back. Ken didn´t tell me that we were stopping at another amazing place, which was an alley called the Dark Hedges, from the TV series Game of Thrones. I had never seen the series, but I had heard a lot about it. However, I love film locations so I was pleasantly surprised by this natural phenomenon in the middle of the fields. On a narrow long road, a fascinating view of white, tall trees with wavy branches that looked like human hands or claws stretching from both sides of the road, opened up in front of us. I felt like I was in some medieval mystical film, literally. After a moment of solitude, crowds of people appeared in front of us who had come here for the same reason. It was as crowded as Times Square! 

On the way back, we stopped for a coffee with a view of White Rocks beach, there was a mobile cafe at the top of the cliffs, and the overfed cows were sunbathing behind us. The sun was still shining even though it was already early evening. We couldn't have been luckier! Later we walked around Portrush a bit more and went for dinner. It was the most beautiful day I have ever experienced and one that will forever be etched in my memory bank, along with the view of the castle and the white beach and the sea lapping at the cliffs.

Arcadia, the gorgeous harbour town hall 

The next day we stopped at White rocks beach, where I took some of the sand into a plastic bottle like a keepsake and I said goodbye to my beautiful beach. Then we left the Northern Ireland and drove for five hours towards the west coast. I was resting, while Ken drove diligently the whole time. He told me that we had to catch the ferry in Doolin, which was supposed to take us to the island of Inishmore. He calculated that we were in a time slip of half an hour, so it was quite nerve-wracking whether we would catch the ferry or not. After five long hours we arrived at the place. He had to park in a more remote field car park, from where we dragged our bags and suitcase to catch the ferry. We had 7 minutes left until departure! Ufff. But we made it and settled on a smaller boat with other tourists. We sailed around all the Aran Islands. The first was Inisheer, where part of Father Ted, the Irish cult series, was supposedly filmed. The next island was Inishmaan and after about a half an hour of sailing, the last one, Inishmore, was waiting for us. We disembarked and a younger guy with his transit van took us to our hotel. 

It was like being in a small village, just in the middle of the ocean. There were beautiful little houses, each one different. One blue, the other white, a third yellow...there were boats and a beautiful white beach at low tide, where we immediately went for a walk. The air was fresh and crisp, because there were almost no cars. On this island, for a change, part of the film with Colin Farrell, Banshees of Inisherin, was being filmed. We stayed in a nice hotel, which was full of tourists. I think there are about 170 locals living on this island. And you could tell. Most of the people were tourists, like us. They had a tiny Bank of Ireland, then there was a small police station just across the road and a little further on was a post office. When I met Ken, he was working as a policeman and after a few years he also worked at the post office in Carlow, recently working in Bank of Ireland in Dublin!  He started laughing out loud and said that if he could find a job here, he could do all three at the same time. We walked through the village and in five minutes we were in the heart of the action, which was the larger local pub, Tí Joe Watty, where we had Irish seafood soup. In the evening we went back to a concert by a local guitarist who played some well-known covers and had a few beers. 

The next day we changed our travel plans a wee bit. We were originally supposed to sail to the mainland around 2 pm, but I suggested to Ken that we could sail earlier, since there was nothing to see here anymore, and he agreed. He reorganized the tickets and we set off three hours early. That gave us more time to explore. We got on board and sailed again, this time to the mainland. The sea was quite wild by then, and huge waves were rolling us from side to side. The sky became a bit overcast and stayed that way for the rest of the day. But we didn't mind too much. 

We found our car in a field and set off on our next trip, towards the Cliffs of Moher, which are the most famous Irish cliffs. I was really looking forward to see them, because in the seven years I've lived in Ireland, I've never managed to visit them. Ken made one dream come true for me after another. Simply the best person in the world! When we arrived at the place where the cliffs were supposed to be, it was like a big campsite. In the middle was a huge parking lot, from which stairs led uphill. And from there you gradually climbed to the very top of the cliffs, where there were narrow paths protected by electric fence (God forbid if you touched them!) , behind which the cows were grazing recklessly. The view from the cliffs was incredible, however! There were a lot of people here, so stopping in the middle of the walk was not really possible, but if you stopped at the lookout, you could see the whole breathtaking panorama. 

I was like in a dream. The wind ruffled my hair and was so strong that if I weighed 20 kilos, it would definitely carry me away. Laughing seagulls were racing through the air above our heads and on the slopes by the road, colorful flowers stood high on the embankments. Pink, white, purple...as the sea below crashed wildly against the cliffs and the foam rolled like white whipped cream. It was something I will never forget. 

Then our trip ended as quickly as it had begun. We had to return to Carlow. We arrived a little late but we still managed to pop in to buy some presents home in a candy shop on Tullow Street and we also managed to pop in for some delicious salmon dinner at Teach Dolmen. And as the final icing on the cake, Ken took me for a last pint to Phelans, which was my favourite pub in Bagenalstown. I had spent so much time here, only 25 years ago. I could still see all the moments I had experienced here in my mind, as a young, unbridled and unspoiled kid. 

We had a few beers and then headed home to watch Highlander and next morning we headed to the airport, where we had to be at 4am! But I didn't mind. I was so full of experiences and beautiful new memories that being a mindless zombie for a while was worth it. It was ALL worth it. Thank you Ken once again, from the bottom of my heart, for rewriting the story of my life, which I never thought could be possible. Thank you for always standing by me, being my friend who never judged me once. Thank you for bringing me to places so dear to my heart and to places where I believe I have lived in my past, hundreds of years ago. Thank you, thank you, thank you...thank you for ever.