We booked a trip to the west coast of Ireland some months
back and, as luck would have it, the weather was perfect. Michael was delighted to find that the car he
hired was brand, spanking new with only 13 kilometres on the clock. We took our time driving through the
beautiful countryside, stopping for coffee and scones at the Tullamore D.E.W
Visitor Centre (not Irish coffee as it was before 10.30am and, as I have
mentioned before, it is illegal to sell alcohol before 10.30am). Then it was back to the car for some more
scenic driving, stopping to picnic along the Wild Atlantic Way. Perfect.
We stopped to walk around the town of Listowel, which is the
birthplace of Sydney Swan premiership player, Tadhg Kennelly. There is a statue of his father, Tim, in the
town, as he was a champion Gaelic footballer.
It is a typical market town and is known as Ireland’s Literary Capital
as a number of playwrights and authors have lived there and the Writers Week
Literary Festival is held there annually.
It is an attractive town with many interesting buildings, shops and
monuments.
Our destination was Tralee, a lovely town that is most
famous for the annual international competition, The Rose of Tralee, which is
celebrated among Irish communities all over the world. The competition is open to any women of Irish
birth or ancestry and contestants are judged on their personality and
suitability to serve as ambassadors for the festival. Australia has taken out the title 4 times
since the start of the competition in 1959, the last time being 2011.
The town itself is located in county Kerry and dates back to
the 13th century. It is a
large town, with lovely Georgian architecture and a number of grand buildings. The Tralee Town Park is located in the town
centre with a rose garden comprising over 5,000 roses of different
varieties. Michael and I enjoyed walking
through the park, looking at all the people stretched out on the grass,
enjoying the sunshine. Many of the men
were shirtless, with one unfortunate gentleman’s back turning an alarming shade
of red.
We checked into our accommodation, the Ashe Hotel, which was
just lovely. It is a large, modern
complex, with a number of function rooms, restaurants and bars and the service
was warm and friendly. The receptionist
asked how we were enjoying the “roasting weather” – it was 18 degrees! It was First Communion season, and we had
noticed as we passed through various towns, that that there were a number of
functions taking place at various pubs and restaurants. The Ashe Hotel was no different, with
celebrations being held and we were fascinated by how formal the occasions were
compared with Australia. Girls were
dressed as mini brides, complete with long, white gowns and veils, whilst the
boys were dressed in suits. The parents
and guests wore their Sunday best with many women wearing full-length
dresses. It was like stepping back into
the 1950’s. Michael asked permission
from a couple of parents to take a photo of their children. They seemed pleased with the attention, even
more so when he explained that we would be placing the photos on our blog. On reflection, we have decided not to post
the pictures of the children, as it doesn’t seem fair to post photos, which may
stay on the Internet indefinitely.
Dinner that evening was at Denny Lane Restaurant & Wine
Bar. The meal was fabulous, the
entertainment less so. The young singer
sang each song at least an octave higher than required, which made for
uncomfortable listening. The good thing
was that it motivated Michael and I to leave as soon as the meal was finished,
to take a walk around the town, before completing the evening with an Irish
coffee back at the hotel.
A leisurely breakfast followed by another walk through the
Town Park and then it was off for our return journey to Dublin. Michael took a different route home, driving
through many small, country towns along the way. One little town was holding a festival and
there were many Travellers there with their horses. We also drove through Athenry, the area made
famous by the haunting folk ballad, The Fields of Athenry.
We returned to Dublin to find the weather was still perfect,
with the local boys wearing wetsuits, jumping into the canal. This seems to be a popular summer pastime
amongst the boys, whilst the girls, all dressed up and wearing fake tan and
heavy makeup, congregate nearby. The
boys make a big show of ignoring the girls whilst showing off, whilst the girls
pretend to ignore the boys whilst posturing.
Oh, to be young again.
The weather has since returned to cool, overcast conditions,
with the local news declaring that “the heatwave” was over. We had experienced 3 days in a row of 18
degrees temperatures.
