Ireland

 We have arrived in Ireland! So nice to put on a sweatshirt for the first time in a month. Here we are in Skerries, the coastal town where we are staying with Jim’s cousin, Andrea. Skerries is 17 miles northeast of Dublin. 

But before I launch into our Ireland adventures I will backtrack to our journey here. Prior to our trip we had been hearing horror stories about the crowds and long lines at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam,  I had downloaded the airport app as well as the KLM app and from every angle, including the next door neighbor who works for KLM, I kept hearing/reading that we need to be at the airport 4 hours before departure. For a 70 minute flight to Dublin! So, we said the final goodbye to our Amsterdam home, closed the door and loaded into the Uber at 8:00 a.m. for our noon time flight. 

As we got close to the departure terminal we noticed a LONG tented corridor on the sidewalk. It was fortunately empty but the Uber driver told us we were lucky as usually there is a long line out the door and it can take hours to even get into the airport. Feeling relieved, we were able to quickly get to the kiosks to drop our luggage, which worked fine for me and Jim, but not for Alex. He tried various kiosks to no avail so we finally decided to ask for assistance. It turns out he was using his digital pass fro the train from Paris rather than the digital KLM boarding pass! Then we were on our way to security and that is where we ran in to a mass of people and multiple snaking, roped lines. As we inched forward we looked down to the airport entry and saw how quickly the outdoor line had formed. It took us an hour to get to the security area - can’t imagine how long it was going to take for the people outside. After various other checkpoints we arrived at our gate. But the gate just opened up to the bus loading area to take us on a ten minute drive to the tarmac for the smaller “city hopper” planes. We went up the stairs and four hours after closing the door to Amsterdam we were finally on our way. 

When we arrived at the Dublin airport and went through the passport check, the agent noted we were from the USA and inquired if we were here for the football game.  We said no, not knowing what he was referring to and wondered if a US soccer team was playing in Ireland. More about that later. 

Andrea picked us up at the airport and settled us into her lovely home in Skerries. She has moved since the last time we were here, selling her prior home in Skerries to her daughter, Dee and her husband Mick. She has a view of the sea from her driveway. 

We took a short walk around Skerries, stopping for cappuccino and pastries, and mostly enjoying the cooler weather. 

Here is one of the defensive structures - Martello towers all along the southern and eastern coasts of Ireland. This one was built in 1804. 

I appreciated this store display that was another reminder, in addition to the weather app, that we were now in Ireland.

We headed over to Mick and Dee’s for dinner. They have had two more kids since we were last here in 2014, so we were a houseful but what a fun evening, full of good food, wine, beer, and plenty of laughs. And too busy to remember to take some photos.

On Saturday we ventured off for a day in Dublin, familiar territory for us, but all new for Alex. He commented that it is his third European capital in 3 weeks. 

We started our day at Queen of Tarts, a cafe we enjoyed on our last visit. I had checked in advance and confirmed it was still open and ideally located near the start of the walking tour we had booked. I easily led us right to it, only to discover it had moved around the corner. Not as cute of a location but they had doubled their space and the food and coffee was still wonderful. 

This is the third time we have a done a free walking tour in Dublin through Sandemans New Europe. But each time it has been a different tour guide, with their own stories and different sights to share. Our tour guide was a real comedian. For real - he runs and improve comedy school.. So, a completely different experience. 

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Christ Church

He shared stories about the infamous bordello owner, Darkey Kelly, who turned out to be a serial killer. After she was arrested for murdering one of her customers, they dug up the floor and found many other bodies. Our tour guide joked that there was this bar named after her, whereas President Obama only got a petrol station named after him when it was found that he had some Irish heritage through his mother.  

He also pointed out this statue of an orchestra conductor hidden away in a small courtyard. It is on the sight of a former concert hall that hosted the first performance of Handel’s  Messiah in 1742.

Walking through Temple Bar it finally made sense of why the passport agent asked if we were here for football. Dublin’s Aviva Stadium was hosting the Nebraska versus Northwestern game. The streets were filled, and pubs and restaurants were overflowing with devoted fans (alums) in team colors. 

Statue of Molly Malone - from an Irish song. Notice her breasts which have been rubbed shiny over the years. 

Trinity college

After the tour we stopped for some Indian street food and watched a film crew interviewing the owner. Apparently it was for a TV show where this financial expert advises people on their entrepreneurial ideas. He had helped them and was back for a follow up story. 

We returned to St Patrick’s Cathedral to see the inside. 

Our tour guide had told us about the Door of Reconciliation and the origination of the Irish term “chancing your arm.”  In 1492 two Irish families were feuding to the point of physical battle. One of the families took refuge in the church. The other family followed them and asked them to come out and make peace. Afraid to be slaughtered, they remained inside the church. In a gesture of good faith the family member outside cut a hole in the door and stuck his arm through to offer a peaceful handshake. Realizing that he was willing to risk his arm, the other hand was extended and they shook hands to end the feud. 

The church also includes several items and dedications to Jonathan Swift. In addition to penning Gulliver’s Travels, he was a prolific and often controversial writer, often focusing on the inequalities in Irish society. He was Dean of the Cathedral. 

We successfully found our way to the train station and headed back to Skerries. Andrea had made dinner and her daughter Eimer, husband Leo, and their two daughters Lillian and Evelyn popped in for a visit and, again, I forgot to take photos (apologies to all the relatives). 

On Sunday we drove with Andrea to Longford where Jim’s mom grew up along with all of her younger first cousins. We had lunch at Barney’s - she is a fabulous cook. So great to connect with these warm and fun people again. 

Host Barney, Norene (cousin John’s wife), and John. 

The guys. 

The gals. Andrea is on the right.