Deignans come to the homeland

By the time I reached Cork after my April travels, I was pretty traveled out. I was getting tired of unfamiliar places and customs. I was ready for something or someone familiar. Good luck for me then, since my family was on their way to Ireland almost as soon as I reached the island J My parents, Emma and Aunt Marilyn came to visit me for a week at the end of April and it was a great week in Ireland J


We started off our trip in Dublin, me meeting them at the hotel. I don’t remember the last time I was so excited to see my family. I mean, I see them on a regular enough basis at home that it’s not a big deal. But even though there were a few missing, it was still great. I wish Jimmy and Ryan could have joined and it would have been perfect. Anyways, we spent our first day exploring Dublin, seeing the book of Kells and St. Stephen’s green. Emma wasn’t feeling great so it was a low key day, but great nonetheless. We finished our first day in Ireland together with some trad music at a pub J 

The following day was supposed to be lunch in Ballingarry with the Cahalans but the car we were renting had gotten into an accident the previous day, so we had an extra morning in Dublin. So we hit up the Guinness factory; my second of what would be three trips to Guinness during my time here :P After finally figuring out the car situation, we slowly pulled out of the car rental place, all of us holding our breath and Dad probably more nervous than he showed. I’m happy to report that we did not crash into anything or anyone and stayed mostly on the correct side of the road. Emma and I even took short turns behind the wheel J We arrived in Ballingarry in time for a wonderful meal that Emma later declared her favorite of the trip. I loved catching up with the Cahalans and my family really liked hearing about Cahalan life in Ireland. Emma and I also found an admirer in Tom’s young daughter Cora. She took a liking to us and was very cute- even when refusing to eat (much to the chagrin of her immediate family) It’ll be interesting to return in who knows how many years and see how that spirited girl turns out ;) I’m really glad that was one of our first stops, I know everyone really liked trading stories. We climbed back in the car after dinner to finish our trek to Cork, arriving in time to find our beds and pass out.

This trip was different for me for a few reasons. One of the biggest was that I wasn’t responsible for much, which was just fine with me. I didn’t have to worry about the plan, didn’t have to worry about money or timing, I just went with the flow. We also had a car, so I didn’t have to worry about transportation at all, which was very different. I didn’t even journal about it, so the days are blurring together a bit for me, trying to remember it a month later. So the rest is going to be a general timeline.

While in the Cork area, I showed them around Cork itself, my favorite part being the clock bell tower. The interesting part about this tower is that they let you play the bells. They have 8 pulleys numbered with a major scale and a book of common songs. While mom and Marilyn were still up near the bells, they yelled down for us to play something so they could see the bells. Dad decided we should try the Notre Dame Alma Mater. I have to say, it turned out pretty well, only a few oops notes :) We also went to Cobh and Blarney while in the area, both of which I’ve been to and told you about before. The thing is, I didn’t mind going again and seeing the same museum and castle as before, because I got to show them around. I know this is cliché, but I probably would have been happy doing just about anything because I was doing it with Mom, Dad, Emma and Marilyn.

That week we did a lot of driving, a lot of talking and it rained a lot (surprise surprise). Emma’s birthday also came and went, and it included her kissing the Blarney Stone (which I coincidentally did on my birthday as well) and driving on the wrong side of the road. Following Cork, we went to Sneem, where a family friend had a house that we were staying in. Sneem is a cute little town and the house was gorgeous but what I think I’m going to remember about Sneem is sharing a room with Emma and catching up with her, and having some really good conversations. From Sneem, we drove the Ring of Kerry and hiked around a beautiful island. After Sneem came Doolin and some more trad music and the Cliffs of Moher. We tried to go to the Aran Islands the next day, but the weather wasn’t cooperating and the ferries weren’t running. So we decided to go to Galway for the day and explore there. After Galway, we headed back to Dublin and we parted ways there- the fam back to America and me back to Cork for one more month of Ireland. If you want more details about our trip, come talk to a Deignan. I’m just glad they came and I had a great week with them. It gave me some time that felt like home away from home.