Ireland Autumn 2019
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Way Out West
When I was growing up, ignorance of the Irish – and downright racism – were rife. There was a common question : “Are your family from the north or the south of Ireland?”. My mate’s dad had a great answer: “We’re from the west!” That usually fooled them. And it’s not what you say but…
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A Southern powerhouse
As far as regional transport hubs go, you probably wouldn’t include the town of Cobh on your list. But just a few miles to the south of Cork, its harbour was extremely important. And on 11th April 1912 it paid host to a notorious visitor : The Titanic. On yet another gloomy day, battered by…
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“Sit where you like, lads”
It’s stopped raining this evening, and given today’s weather that’s something to be celebrated. The River Lee runs through the centre of Cork City, a confident looking symbol of prosperity. Before the bustle of the city centre itself, there’s time for a quick Guinness in the Victorian Quarter. Although looking around it could well be…
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The sunny south east* (T&Cs apply)
The south eastern corner of Ireland is said to be the country’s sunniest place. But everything is relative here, and relatively sunny can also mean relatively wet when there’s a southerly wind blowing in from the Bay of Biscay. It’s a nice enough drive out of Wexford towards Waterford. On the advice of Lorcan –…
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Keep it In The Family
One thing I’ve ways tried to do when travelling is to get a real sense of a place. To go where the locals go, off the traditional tourist trail. That’s not always simple, because you have to trust a combination of instinct with a random story here, a half told tale there; never fully sure…
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Trains, planes and automobiles
A simple enough task, you would think, is to travel from Nottingham to Dublin. But the first challenge is to get to Birmingham. By train, it takes two hours to get to London from home, a distance of 107 miles. Birmingham is 45 miles away – and the journey time is roughly the same. Or…
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To the Motherland
Travel should ultimately be about a sense of adventure, delving just a little bit into the unknown. Even if you usually “play it safe”, going to a familiar place, there’s always something new you discover. Both of my parents were Irish, so as a kid I was – eventually – introduced to the wonders of…
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