jharrison12

My husband and I will be travelling the east, north/east coasts of Ireland in May. When he was there two years ago he had two experiences that were the highlights of his trip.
One was finding out when they arrived at the parking area of a castle that they were to explore, that they would be taking a horse and cart to get to the castle.
The other experience was happening upon a pub in the evening, where the entertainment was live. At one point the singer sang a song that had every one of the locals in the pub singing it too, with tears in their eyes.
I'd love to hear about your experiences and hope that I may experience my own. It can be a special place too!
jharrison

NEDSIRELAND

1999: I stopped at the Courtenay Lodge in NewcastleWest, County Limerick for a couple of nights on a golf outing. On my departure I left an old pair of Golf shoes with metal spikes and a frayed pair of jeans next to the trashcan.

About a year later, I stopped at the Courtenay Lodge again: the housekeeper, Kate, approached me and asked if I was the 'gentleman in Room number 6.' I said: "yes, I stayed there last May." She told me she had some of my things upstairs. She had washed and ironed those old Levi's; the golf shoes were just as I had left them.

I explained to her that I intended to throw out those items but thanked her for her attention and offered her a gratuity, which she would not accept.

The last time I was there, Kate had been promoted.

rickmav

My husband and I were in Ireland in 2002 to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Although we'd been there before we'd never seriously tried to track down any of his possible long-lost relatives (his grandfather had emigrated from Co. Mayo in late 1800s).

We set aside three days and had the most fun. We met so many interesting and helpful - and hilarious - people (the parish priest, the postmistress, a potter and the milkman) and ended up finding what we'd come to know from a 78 year old woman turning peat in a field in the middle of nowhere.

Her name was Winnie O'Donnell (my husband is an O'Donnell - she had married a younger son of the grandfather's brother) and she knew all about the family, including the house where my husband's grandfather had been born and where he'd lived until he'd come to Canada. She invited us in for tea and arranged for us to see the house as well as find the last remaining sister-in-law and her son related to my husband's grandfather.

It made our trip.

Laoghaire

Hello..Wonderful moments...I was in Ireland for the first time in 1991 with my sister. Our main destination was Inchigeelagh in County Cork-- the home of our ancestors, the O'Learys. When we saw "our" castle (tower house), called Carrignacurra, we both sat down and cried. I shall always treasure that special moment, thinking of all the O'Learys gone before us. I have been back five times, with my Swedish husband, but will never forget that first time in my second homeland, Ireland...Helen

dixon

I think my special Irish moment came in Tralee at Hotel Crazy Posterior, which is more properly known as the Earl of Desmond.

After figuring out enough of the electrical switches to turn on a couple of lamps, I proceeded to the bathroom. It was a nice enough bathroom with all the necessary and customary facilities. Everything went normally until I wanted to flush the toilet.

I could not find any mechanism to perform what up until that moment had always been a routine task. It was not on the floor, nor was there a chain to pull or a button to push or a handle to flip. There was no pedal, no electronic sensor, no switch, no lever, no chain, no knob anywhere in sight. So my wife and I began a tile by tile search. I said, well Sherlock Holmes could find it by tracing every inch of every wall. And sure enough, using that method, we found it -- in the shower.

Mystery solved. The handle was out of sight behind the splash partition safely tucked away in the shower.
Neat idea, prevents overuse.

crazymina

My entire trip to Ireland was one giant special moment. I quit my job and went to Europe for four months soonafter my Ireland trip...and 11 other countries later, it still ranks in the top 3.

I've got a report on it somewhere on here, but a really nice day was when a gentleman took the day off to drive me around Galway/Connemara for 6 hours just to show off his country. He had a girlfriend, and really wanted nothing from me. After a lovely day of fishing, afternoon tea, etc, he dropped me off and I never saw him again.

EnchantingIreland

Jharrison12,

Good question -- and it conjurs up memories from many trips. If I were to pick one it was back in 1994...

I was traveling with 8 friends whom I left in Dublin and was to meet at a castle we rented in Loughrea (near Galway) I took the train to Galway, spent the night with a co-worker whom I bumped into in Dublin (what are the chances??)

I boarded the bus, headed to Loughrea to find my castle... only knowing it was a castle, the town and the owner Burke, a veterinarian.

I stopped at the post office, opened the yellow pages to find the vet and there were at least 20 by the same name in Loughrea, all vets! Going down the list the first one knew who I wanted and gave me the number... and they gave me directions.

Walking through town and down a country road, I enjoyed talking to the cows following me in their pasture... and came across an older woman who started chatting with me. We talked a while and when we came to her house she invited me in for scones and tea, which I was really needing after that walk.

Our chat lasted a few hours, talking about her life in Ireland, her children, the farm and life in America. She knew of my friends, "the Americans", and told me about their night in the pub the night before... gossip abounds the town.

Being invited in and the conversation was my most memorable experience (though the castle was pretty cool too!)

Cheers,
Christopher
http://www.EnchantingIreland.com

gualalalisa

My most special moment in Ireland was when I rented a horse at a stable just outside of Dromoland Castle where we were staying.

The young woman who was my guide and I began cantering down a road in the Irish countryside of everyone's fantsay. We went by green pastures, stone walls, thatched cottages and over stone bridges. The horse had the smoothest gait of any horse I have ever ridden and the beauty of the surroundings, the weather and the joy of riding and feeling at one with the horse made it just a perfect experience.