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Cead Meale Failte (100,000 Welcomes)
By Jan Shaughnessy

I would be remiss if I let the month of March slip by without writing about the wonderful warm welcoming country of Ireland.  It has been one year since I made my fourth trip to Ireland; and I can't wait until I go again.  Ireland, so rich in beauty, culture, and history.  The people so friendly.  Ireland has so much to offer from it's inclusive luxury motor coach tours, to self-drive B&B stays and Chauffeur drive tours.  Choices of accommodations will abound you with intimate B&B's, manor homes, family vacation homes, Superior First Class hotels, and 5 Star Castles.  A plethora of activities await the outdoor enthusiast.  Golfers can take in the beautiful shades of green while golfing on a world class links golf course.  Boaters, Kayakers, and fly fishers, can explore the beautiful rivers and lakes of Ireland.  If surfing is more your bag, then catch the waves on the Northwest shores.  For breathtaking, cliffhanging views, hikers might seek out Slieve League, Cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry, and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge in Northern Ireland. 

If it's a more soft adventure you're seeking, Ireland won't disappoint.  The country is rich with museums of Ireland history and heritage.  At the Potato Famine Museum you can learn all about the 1845 potato famine that lasted six years, and caused millions to immigrate to the United States.  Step back in time with a visit to the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park.  You'll experience the lifestyle of an Irish village in the 19th century.  When you're through touring the folk park, a short stroll over to the Bunratty Castle will take you further back in time with a Medieval Banquet dinner show.  After the banquet stop in right across the street for a nightcap at one of Ireland's oldest and most famous pubs; the 17th century Durty Nelly's.  While there, get your picture taken "pulling" your own pint of Guinness.  Speaking of Guinness, let's hop on over to Dublin.  In Dublin you can visit the Guinness Storehouse which celebrated it's 250 anniversary in 2009.   The building is shaped like a giant pint of Guinness.  You'll learn the history and what goes in to making a pint of Guinness.  If you make it up to the top of the pint, you'll enter the Gravity Bar where you can enjoy a free pint of Guinness.  While sipping on your Guinness you'll be able to enjoy spectacular views of the capital Dublin.  You'll be able to view the sights that later you might want to visit on the Hop On/Hop Off Dublin bus.  Sights like Trinity College, Christchurch Cathedral, St Patrick's Catherdral, Phoenix Park, Liberty Hall, The Spire (also known as "Stiffey by the Liffey"), and Wellington Monument.  If you're looking for a true Irish Pub experience then head on over to Ireland's oldest pub "Brazen Head", dating back to 1198.  Sit back and enjoy some Irish music and traditional Irish Lamb Stew or Fish and Chips.  For more Dublin nightlife the Temple Bar quarter offers pubs, restaurants, and cafes to suit every style and taste.  Dublin offers so much to see and do.  One could visit Ireland and spend the whole week in Dublin.  But you would be missing out on so much more Ireland has to offer.  Like a walking tour in the town of Cobh, the last stop of the Titanic.    

I have seen and learned so much from my trips to Ireland.  The  motor coach drivers are entertaining and an encyclopedia of knowledge on Ireland.  They love to tell jokes and spin yarns.  From them I've learned the Irish are superstitious and cutting down a "Fairy Tree" is bad luck.  Tis true, in Dublin they actually built the highway around a lone Fairy Tree.  I've learned donkeys are good luck, and white donkeys can fetch 2000 Euro.  I've learned a "Chippy" is a carpenter and a "Sparky" an electrician.  "Potten" (White Lightning) is illegal, and "Ishka" (Whisky) is the water of life.  I've learned a lot of good poets and writers have come from Ireland; James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and John Keats.  I've loved sitting back and listening to the drivers talk of their homeland.  They speak with such pride.  Michael had the whole bus excited about seeing his beloved Aunt Mary.  He had the whole bus convinced he had called ahead, and she would be waiting for us, waving as we drove through her town.  She was; Mary was a mural of a lady in the window painted on the building.  It was from Billy I learned how dedicated and hard working the Irish were.  That after a week on the road, he would be turning around and doing it all over again without seeing his family.  And it was Billy that showed Irish humbleness when he held back tears, and choked when he received our card of thanks.  But it is I who hold back tears when I think of my driver Patrick.  A good looking, young thirty something Irishman.  For one week we listened and laughed to Patrick's jokes, stories, and tales.  We listened to his Irish accent say we should be back to the bus at "tree thurty".  We listened to Patrick sing a lovely song his brother had written, and we watched him take getting a parking ticket in stride.  "Oh well, what can you do" he says.  We had ribbed Patrick a lot during the week.  We teased him about not being married, and not having a girlfriend.  He just laughed and sometimes would blush, but always was the perfect Irish gentleman, never letting on.   At the end of our tour we learned he had been engaged to the love of his life and she had been killed in an accident.  So I learned one more lesson from my trip to Ireland.  That even in the saddest times the Irish were gracious and hospitable people. 

Even after four trips to Ireland there is still more for me to see and learn.  I'm making plans to return.  When I start missing and thinking about Ireland I listen to the CD that Patrick recommended to me.  It's called "Celtic Roots - 15 Hauting Irish Airs".  As I listen to it I think of all the beauty I've seen, and the fun times I've had in the wonderful country of Ireland.  A country that welcomes you 100,000 times.  Happy St Patrick's Day!