What a beautiful story about your travels in Ireland, Brenna! I loved reading about my adopted country through your eyes.
I'd like to comment on one thing. You wrote "As we drove through each small town in Ireland and nestled into the pubs full of musicians, I found myself wondering how Ireland produces so many great artists on such a small island of about 5 million people."
In regard to music at least, I have observed that children naturally learn to play musical instruments and sing because their parents and grandparents do so as well. It's just a part of their culture. In the U.S. and Europe, playing and performing music has become something for experts whom we pay to perform for us. The thought that we ourselves can make and share music with our friends, communities and strangers has been lost.
This isn't true in Ireland. I have often seen people stand up in a pub and share a song or a story. Some are better than others, but this doesn't matter at all. It is the fact that they are willing to contribute to the community that matters.
Yes in the Napoli airport there is a piano 🎹 there are no amateurs that attempt to play! Only the serious musicians play and it’s usually very good. I love how music is just part of culture in Ireland 🥰
Beautiful story. I always found the drive people from US have, to discover their roots, very interesting. Almost strange. I had a talk with a friend from US who also has Irish roots and she described it as an identity crisis: people need to know where they come from and since USA is a very young nation, people felt the need to go further back in time.
And what she described sounded right. The even stranger thing is that, I for example, never questioned my roots and hence, never really did any research. Similarly, many of my friends from countries other than the US, have never done any research either.
My suspicion is that when people of all backgrounds immigrate to the US they “reject” the culture they came from to assimilate. So then they’re like wait - why didn’t my grandparents talk about where they were from? People just kind of close off the trauma and then leave the next gen to guess what happened because they won’t talk about it.
Yeah and maybe that reluctance of grandparents to talk about their roots is also what caused the next generation to sometimes be "showing off" their heritage in every chance possible. I remember watching "my big fat greek wedding" thinking that it is a funny, but completely unrealistic story. When a friend went to a greek-american wedding some years ago, she freaked out by how much the wedding looked like the movie.
My point is that, people needed to show off their heritage, more to prove to themselves where they come from. They needed to feel they belong somewhere.
Maybe! I love love love going to my friends weddings and learning their customs and traditions. For example, a friend had a Lithuanian cake at her wedding to represent her heritage. Music food dancing etc it’s all so fun to learn new things !!!
Did you ever have the chance to attend a Lithuanian-American and a Lithuanian wedding (in Lithuania) to compare notes? I bet they would be quite different.
You can ofc substitute "Lithuanian" with any nationality.
Such a lovely tribute to Ireland, your family and yourself. The people I was housesitting for were in Ireland too and loved it too and they had no family connection to the country to help tie them there. I love that you did a camper van for your travels. What a great beach spot to park. Also, that pic of the bread out in the open - we both know that would never fly in the US. I love that other countries are so trusting with their food products. Plus I really want a chunk of that brown bread. It looks delicious.
We bought that focaccia and it was WARM and better than any focaccia we ate in Italy 😂. We loved that gourmet grocery store we went to. Thanks for reading Patricia ❤️
Lovely piece . I am heading home to Ireland on a road trip next month, I never thought of a mobile home but that is something Im going to look into. You have me giddy with excitement now.
I too love Irish authors and Irish cinema is growing in strength, funding and volumn at the moment - so many good films . Thanks for writing and sharing . Watch out for my piece end of next month
I will. It was so easy to travel with a camper! Everyone does it! We got spots on the beach so easily and campsites were available day of. really recommend it.
The reason why we Irish are all storytellers or musicians is because of the weather. We can't go outside in the evening because of the crap weather, so for generations we have sat huddled by fires in pubs and entertained each other! :D
That makes total sense Rosie! I was so embarrassed when we got there. We got talking to a lot of people and I couldn’t understand a word 🫢 Luckily Mr. Brenna was there to interpret for me 😂 he played Irish football in the states so he recognizes all the accents
Hahaha don’t be embarrassed, some Irish accents are difficult even for Irish people to understand without a lot of concentration! Glad you enjoyed it and felt a connection. :) Get together soon hopefully! xx
I am currently staying in an Airbnb in Portlaoise, Ireland, more into the interior where my Ancestry.com latest DNA report says I must have relatives. My paternal grandmother's birth name was Nellie Coffey. She was born in 1869 in the US as far as I know. I must share a fair amount of her DNA. I was in Carlow last summer, but I didn't find any Coffeys other than a server whose grandmother was Mollie Coffey. There was no hint of the Irish ancestry evident in my growing up years except mention of my grandmothers Uncles (I think) making wax cylinder recordings while singing Irish songs when she was young. During my month last summer and the month I am beginning now, I am just trying to soak in the feel of the locals to connect a bit with ancestral roots. I have just been in the area in Germany that Ancestry.com says contains people I am related to. My mother was born in a small German village in 1907 in what is now northeastern Poland. Her family must have had to get out of Poland around wartime and moved to the Southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse & Western Thuringia area of Germany. I have been in that area of Germany a number of times and feel connections to oth the German and the Irish ancestry. I am not willing to spend time pursuing specifics about the lineage. I am just enjoying the feelings associated with it, the added sense of being in a stream that flows from ancient roots. Thank you for your post. I continue to appreciate your embracing the marvelous complexity of our human family.
By the way, the writings of John O'Donohue, are lovely, thoughtful and spiritual (without being religious). He lived in the Burren and connected with the various "thin places" in that area.
What a beautiful story about your travels in Ireland, Brenna! I loved reading about my adopted country through your eyes.
I'd like to comment on one thing. You wrote "As we drove through each small town in Ireland and nestled into the pubs full of musicians, I found myself wondering how Ireland produces so many great artists on such a small island of about 5 million people."
In regard to music at least, I have observed that children naturally learn to play musical instruments and sing because their parents and grandparents do so as well. It's just a part of their culture. In the U.S. and Europe, playing and performing music has become something for experts whom we pay to perform for us. The thought that we ourselves can make and share music with our friends, communities and strangers has been lost.
This isn't true in Ireland. I have often seen people stand up in a pub and share a song or a story. Some are better than others, but this doesn't matter at all. It is the fact that they are willing to contribute to the community that matters.
Yes in the Napoli airport there is a piano 🎹 there are no amateurs that attempt to play! Only the serious musicians play and it’s usually very good. I love how music is just part of culture in Ireland 🥰
Beautiful story. I always found the drive people from US have, to discover their roots, very interesting. Almost strange. I had a talk with a friend from US who also has Irish roots and she described it as an identity crisis: people need to know where they come from and since USA is a very young nation, people felt the need to go further back in time.
And what she described sounded right. The even stranger thing is that, I for example, never questioned my roots and hence, never really did any research. Similarly, many of my friends from countries other than the US, have never done any research either.
My suspicion is that when people of all backgrounds immigrate to the US they “reject” the culture they came from to assimilate. So then they’re like wait - why didn’t my grandparents talk about where they were from? People just kind of close off the trauma and then leave the next gen to guess what happened because they won’t talk about it.
Yeah and maybe that reluctance of grandparents to talk about their roots is also what caused the next generation to sometimes be "showing off" their heritage in every chance possible. I remember watching "my big fat greek wedding" thinking that it is a funny, but completely unrealistic story. When a friend went to a greek-american wedding some years ago, she freaked out by how much the wedding looked like the movie.
My point is that, people needed to show off their heritage, more to prove to themselves where they come from. They needed to feel they belong somewhere.
Maybe! I love love love going to my friends weddings and learning their customs and traditions. For example, a friend had a Lithuanian cake at her wedding to represent her heritage. Music food dancing etc it’s all so fun to learn new things !!!
Did you ever have the chance to attend a Lithuanian-American and a Lithuanian wedding (in Lithuania) to compare notes? I bet they would be quite different.
You can ofc substitute "Lithuanian" with any nationality.
No! But maybe I will someday! 😃
Such a lovely tribute to Ireland, your family and yourself. The people I was housesitting for were in Ireland too and loved it too and they had no family connection to the country to help tie them there. I love that you did a camper van for your travels. What a great beach spot to park. Also, that pic of the bread out in the open - we both know that would never fly in the US. I love that other countries are so trusting with their food products. Plus I really want a chunk of that brown bread. It looks delicious.
We bought that focaccia and it was WARM and better than any focaccia we ate in Italy 😂. We loved that gourmet grocery store we went to. Thanks for reading Patricia ❤️
Yum!
Lovely piece . I am heading home to Ireland on a road trip next month, I never thought of a mobile home but that is something Im going to look into. You have me giddy with excitement now.
I too love Irish authors and Irish cinema is growing in strength, funding and volumn at the moment - so many good films . Thanks for writing and sharing . Watch out for my piece end of next month
I will. It was so easy to travel with a camper! Everyone does it! We got spots on the beach so easily and campsites were available day of. really recommend it.
fantastic I will research today !
Amazing photos! Ireland is on my list of places I would love to visit. And I love Derry Girls! (And the hot priest from Fleabag💀)
Wow, these are such beautiful photos! Makes me want to go to Ireland even more. I’m putting it on my list 😊
The reason why we Irish are all storytellers or musicians is because of the weather. We can't go outside in the evening because of the crap weather, so for generations we have sat huddled by fires in pubs and entertained each other! :D
That makes total sense Rosie! I was so embarrassed when we got there. We got talking to a lot of people and I couldn’t understand a word 🫢 Luckily Mr. Brenna was there to interpret for me 😂 he played Irish football in the states so he recognizes all the accents
Hahaha don’t be embarrassed, some Irish accents are difficult even for Irish people to understand without a lot of concentration! Glad you enjoyed it and felt a connection. :) Get together soon hopefully! xx
So glad you enjoyed your visit! ☘️
Thanks for your tips Clare!
Fabulous! I cycled The Wild Atlantic Way including Westport and Achill Island and know a little of these things. This Poet knows infinitely more:
https://poems.com/poem/postscript/
I am currently staying in an Airbnb in Portlaoise, Ireland, more into the interior where my Ancestry.com latest DNA report says I must have relatives. My paternal grandmother's birth name was Nellie Coffey. She was born in 1869 in the US as far as I know. I must share a fair amount of her DNA. I was in Carlow last summer, but I didn't find any Coffeys other than a server whose grandmother was Mollie Coffey. There was no hint of the Irish ancestry evident in my growing up years except mention of my grandmothers Uncles (I think) making wax cylinder recordings while singing Irish songs when she was young. During my month last summer and the month I am beginning now, I am just trying to soak in the feel of the locals to connect a bit with ancestral roots. I have just been in the area in Germany that Ancestry.com says contains people I am related to. My mother was born in a small German village in 1907 in what is now northeastern Poland. Her family must have had to get out of Poland around wartime and moved to the Southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse & Western Thuringia area of Germany. I have been in that area of Germany a number of times and feel connections to oth the German and the Irish ancestry. I am not willing to spend time pursuing specifics about the lineage. I am just enjoying the feelings associated with it, the added sense of being in a stream that flows from ancient roots. Thank you for your post. I continue to appreciate your embracing the marvelous complexity of our human family.
By the way, the writings of John O'Donohue, are lovely, thoughtful and spiritual (without being religious). He lived in the Burren and connected with the various "thin places" in that area.
Wonderful. So glad you could connect with that place and find some freedom there.