And they called her The Irish Rover

Reflections on Galway and Kilfenora

We are on our 6th day in Ireland and it is hard for me to believe how much we have already done. I write this from Killarney, our first housesit, meaning we have a chance to catch our breath (and do laundry) as we hang out with sweet Chili the dog for the week. There is more to tell than what I will cover here, but I wanted to start sharing so I didn't forget anything!

We landed in Dublin last Thursday, September 4, around noon. I had miraculously been able to get a few hours of sleep on the flight. Calvin--not so much. Which was truly unfortunate as he was the one who had elected to be our driver for the week, and we immediately left Dublin to drive across the island to Galway. Fortunately, this route is mostly motorways, which gave Cal the opportunity to practice driving stick with his left hand without having to navigate Ireland's famously narrow country roads. On the way, we stopped in Athlone for lunch, where we were greeted with an actual Irish rainbow over an old church!

We arrived in Galway and found our Airbnb with only a slight amount of trouble, as I couldn't access the address without Wifi. After a bit of stumbling around we found our way, and were happy to remember our way around the streets of Galway from our last visit. We were staying just a few blocks up from Eyre Square, which is just off from Shop Street. If you look at this map, we were staying just at the top of Prospect Street.

While both of us were dead tired, we couldn't let our first day in Ireland pass without a stop at a pub for a pint of Guinness. We made our way down Shop Street, through the flags and the buskers, to the King's Head on the recommendation of my aunt and uncle.

After sleeping for 12 hours (literally--not an exaggeration), we were ready to take on our first full day in Ireland. We checked out of our Airbnb at 10 and spent the day wandering around Galway. We stopped at a shop for coffee and sausage rolls, which we ate as we walked along the water to the Cathedral. From there, we wandered through the art market which had set up in Eyre Square, and then made our way down to the waterfront. By the afternoon, we decided it was high time for another visit to a pub. This time, we stumbled into Murphy's on Shop Street, which is the first pub we visited in Galway when we last visited in 2016!

By 4 pm, we climbed back in the car--this time with Calvin fully rested--and started driving south to Kilfenora, a truly tiny village where we spent the next two nights. This journey is where we first started to experience the narrow roads of Ireland, and where I learned that driving can be a two-person job. In addition to navigating, I was on alert to let Calvin know when he was at risk of running into the greenery lining the road on the left-hand side.

We came to Kilfenora on the random recommendation of a woman I ran into at a nail salon over the summer. She suggested the town due to its scenery and music, both of which appealed to us. The scenery is classic Ireland--rolling green hills, pastures of cows and sheep, and the occasional crumbling castle. But when we drove into the town, it was difficult for us to tell if the music scene was going to prove true. This is truly one of the smallest towns I have ever been in--according to Google it has a population of 150--and there isn't really a town center, like in most Irish towns. However, we were quickly able to find Vaughn's pub, which is the place the woman had told me about. We went for dinner around 6 pm and asked the waitress if there would be music that night. She told us yes and that it would start around 10...10! PM! While we had started to get over the jet lag, it seemed daunting to head back out at 10 after safely making it to our hotel room. But we knew the music was part of the reason why we had come, so we bravely head back out after the sun went down, along the road to Vaughn's, where we were 2 of about 10 people in the bar when the music began (including the bartender).

The musician was one man with a guitar who started playing Irish classics--songs I recognized from Dubliners and Pogues albums from my childhood. It was simple but well done, and as the evening wore on the pub began filling up with people from a party next door. By the time we left close to midnight, the place was packed to the gills with laughing, cheersing, and stories. It was a classic Irish pub experience.

The next day took us out to the Burren, but I will write that story another day. Thanks to all who are reading--I am sending so much love from the Emerald Isle.

Love,

Delaney