Ireland and Independence

We landed in Dublin, Ireland on July 4, the United States’ Independence Day. On this date I typically find myself filled with unbridled pride and patriotism (with a hint of nationalism). This year was no exception, and Ireland felt like an appropriate place to experience these feelings.

The Irish will tell you that they are most proud of their independence from Britain, officially earned by treaty in 1922 but for the sake of analogy, gained through guerrilla tactics in July 1921. The Irish are right to celebrate their hard earned independence–every one of our tours in this country emphasize that the Irish lost nearly every war and battle, particularly the defensive ones, that took place in their homeland. The norse, the gauls, the normans, and the saxons each took their turn conquering Ireland, and their influences can be see in the architecture and even the culture.

Besides and inclusive of the politics, Ireland is a charmingly poetic place. In the local vernacular (Irish Gaelic, or Irish Caeltic, depending who you ask), you can’t just use descriptive language, you must use metered poetic descriptive language. The turns of phrase we have heard from the locals inspired us to engage nearly everyone in deep conversations, both to hear their fine accents and to hear their elongated, elaborate way of saying 9:30 (“haugh-nayne”) or something as simple as coffee creamer (“pouring cream”). Everything’s a craic here (craic means “fun” or “atmosphere”)–where’s the craic? how’s the craic? is it craic? great craic! We asked around to find the local craic and were not disappointed in the free spirit and happiness of the local Irish in the big cities and the tiny villages.

Speaking of tiny villages, this is the real joy of visiting Ireland. We loved Dublin, and learned more than we expected about Irish history and Independence, but the true emerald of this isle is every hobbit hole between Dublin and Cork. Rent a car and explore. Every hillside is lush and laden with cows and sheep, speckled here and there with a modest cottage and not so modest medieval ruin. The local villagers are warm and inviting and tell fascinating stories. We were charmed the minute we left Dublin.

We left Ireland longing to return in the future with a focus on countryside sightseeing on the west coast. Let us know if you’d like to join for round two.