IRELAND

Now I am always being told ‘You should go to Ireland, you will love it!’ So a couple of weeks ago my wife and I booked the ferry to Dublin and we were ready. Well not exactly I planned to drive to the ferry on Monday catch the 5:15pm ferry and be there (in Dublin) by 7:10pm and zip into our hotel which was pre-booked!

My wife thought not - better to travel to Holyhead on the Sunday, stay at a hotel and catch the 12 noon ferry on Monday and be in Dublin by 2:00 pm. OK so my plans would have been a bit tight to say the least,. So we went to Holyhead on Sunday. Now there is an expression that goes ‘The best laid plans of mice and men etc.’ The Valley Hotel was fine and the food very commendable, the staff very friendly, any way before breakfast I checked my e-mails – whoops what was this.

' Adverse weather conditions exist, your fast ferry is cancelled and you are booked on the slow ferry at 4:00 arriving Dublin 6:00pm. Now I am a patient man and I agree rough weather on the Irish crossing is not to be ignored, anyway it was roughly the time I had originally expected to arrive so that was fine.

Now from the Ferry terminal to our hotel is a fifteen minute drive (O’Connell Street), now that was what I expected BUT – I hadn’t allowed for President Obama, now President Obama may be of Irish descent – I know not! But two and a half hours later we got to our hotel. The President was in town and everywhere was blocked – you can go off people and the American President was not my favourite person when I finally booked. The hotel restaurant had closed (the less said about the hotel the better) and we had to go hunting for our dinner!

The next morning I (we) were up early – no breakfast and let’s get out of town.

Did we enjoy our trip, well I did. It did rain a lot, and it was cold, and as I was researching the ‘Nine Year’s War’ –Tyrone’s Rebellion’ for me the trip was a success. For Margaret who was feeling cold and wet it may not have been great. Tyrone’s Rebellion – Yellow Ford – Curlew Pass – Clontibret mean anything to you, it didn’t to most people I spoke to. It all happened in 1594 – 1603 and was the time when the Troubles in Ireland really started – followed by the Plantations. I know it suddenly got boring if you’re not into it. So I enjoyed the trip. And I will write a little about another time, in fact I intend to write a complete book set during the Rebellion, fiction of course but fiction does need to be correct on anything factual you include. Keep reading my blogs – have been very remiss lately but shall now give it some attention.

Regards to all Patrick