Ireland Enchants Student Honeymooner
My husband Russell O’Brien and I wandered the streets of downtown Dublin, enjoying the drizzling rain and the secret of our new marriage and adventure together. After 15 hours flying, we arrived in Dublin for our two week honeymoon on the morning of June 16.
We rented a car to drive around the small country, having arranged to stay in bed and breakfasts, castles and hotels. Immediately upon our arrival, we were bombarded with one question: “Why did you choose Ireland?”
My husband is an avid traveler, but this was my first time leaving the continent and I wanted to go somewhere meaningful. Russell has shared stories of his three trips to Ireland investigating his O’Brien heritage with his father since we were in high school together, and the small verdant country seemed perfect. He carefully curated our trip.
Dublin was the biggest city we visited, but Galway was by far our favorite destination and we extended our stay there for two extra days.
Nightlife
Galway is a cobblestoned port city with close trading ties to the Spanish. We stayed a total of four nights.
A friend of a friend, Orlaith Duffy, 22, became our lovely tour guide. She directed us through the labyrinth of streets to all the best bars and clubs while explaining the histories of the oldest pubs along the way.
At public houses or pubs, I saw people from the ages 18 to their 50s and 60s mingling and dancing next to one another. The legal drinking age is 18. There were smoking rooms available, and vending machines with cigarettes. I saw one pub handing out to-go cups at the end of the night.
Since the buildings are so old, extensive renovations and vertical expansion create different atmospheres within one location. Nearly all the pubs have separate rooms or spots set aside for performances by live bands, comedians and room for dancing.
Many clubs are multi-leveled with each level of playing different music. One played 2000s tunes that everyone sang along to. Other levels played electronic or slower music.
The older pubs have a vibrant history and switch off modern-day hits with traditional “trad” music. Traditional Irish fare can either be fast dancing music made up of a flute, fiddle, recorder, violins, harp and whatever instrument the locals have handy, or a lamenting ballad sung to share the story of an Irish revolutionary.
The locals loved joining in to sing, happily creating an unintelligible cacophony.
I was surprised to find some people more interested in a good conversation than simply hooking up. A John Mulaney-looking man approached me as I wrote alone in my journal one night at a pub in Galway. Instead of taking “I’m married,” as a rebuke, Cathal Owens, 18, of County Mayo excitedly began a lively discussion on the differences in Irish and American politics upon hearing my accent.
Owens shared that Ireland loves America, and many homes prominently display three frames of people who famously visited: John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama next to Pope John Paul II, of course. One local even reminisced about seeing Kennedy at his 1963 parade through town months before he died.
The general sentiment was that our latest election proved the incapability the American electoral system, we should be ashamed and I would be better off starting my family in Ireland.
To my astonishment, this conversation not only continued but expanded once my husband joined, to the dismay of Owens’ three brothers. They had brought their youngest brother visiting from the country to their local pub and were too preoccupied looking for more available women to engage in political discourse.
Men across the country teased Russell and me mercilessly for our public displays of affection, yet they gave us great bear hugs and kissed my cheeks after learning we were newlyweds. Women found my husband holding me from behind at the bar endearing yet unattainable since it seemed so uncommon.
Markree Castle in Sligo
Driving onto the grounds of the Markree Castle in Sligo felt like walking onto the set of Downton Abbey. My husband’s gift of the gab got us the entire castle to ourselves for two nights for the price of one room, and I felt like royalty. The whole venue typically goes for 10,000 Euro per night, or $11,420.74.
More interesting than its manicured gardens, grounds and Irish wolfhounds was the building itself. Upon our late night arrival, Russell and I went exploring.
I raced through hallways and was overwhelmed with its tactile history and stained glass. Touching everything, I ran further and further upstairs until I got lost and somehow ended up exiting the back of the castle to return into the lavender, twilight nightscape.
Because of how far north it is, Ireland was bright from dawn until around 9:30 p.m. when the sun set during the solstice. The sky remained purple until the next morning.
Expecting rain, I had not packed appropriately. It got so hot that after three days I needed to buy short sleeved shirts, shorts and sunglasses. At its peak during our trip, Ireland reached a humid 90 degrees.
Cliffs of Moher and O’Brien Tower
We next visited the Cliffs of Moher and O’Brien tower. Entering from the parking lot, we found meditation rooms with relaxing music. Six large souvenir shops and an exhibition sit in the rolling hills.
If there is bad weather, the exhibition is available as an indoor and disability-friendly experience with interactive displays, a birds-eye view theater and café.
The 702-foot expansive rock face of the Cliffs of Moher themselves was a short hike with many stairs but made for an overwhelmingly beautiful experience.
Puffins and other local wildlife are reported to be visible on the small islands offshore, but we saw no animals beyond seagulls.
Drombeg Stone Circle
The destination I was most excited to visit was hidden in the West Cork countryside: Drombeg stone circle. Also known as The Druid’s Altar, the circle consists of 17 freestanding stones that symmetrically sit opposite each other. On the winter solstice, the sun sets at a point on the horizon to align perfectly opposite a pair of tall stones that form an entrance into the circle.
Encyclopaedia Britannica states the earliest records of Druids date back to the 3rd century B.C., and the history and magic here felt palpable. There was a constant stream of visitors leaving offerings at the altar in the center of the circle.
Acting as priests, teachers and judges, the Druids performed ritual sacrifices and ceremonies here until they were suppressed by the Romans and lost their priestly functions as Christianity spread rapidly in the first century. Legends of their ancient magic have impacted Irish history and Celtic folklore ever since.
Food
The food in Ireland required a big adjustment. An Irish breakfast is similar to the English breakfast with the driest scones I have ever tasted in my life served alongside tea, sausages, eggs and jam on toast. My husband enjoyed the occasional black pudding, or blood sausages, though I did not.
As a woman who appreciates a good hamburger, I was eager to try one made with fresh, locally-sourced meat and toppings. What I received was a well-done, flavorless meal with floppy “chips” or french fries. I was disappointed to learn that Ireland mirrors the UK’s standard requires that any ground meat must be cooked well-done, charcoal style.
We found the best food at Italian restaurants. Because the service industry in Europe does not rely on tips, service was often incredibly slow. We once waited for up to 20 minutes at the front of a restaurant before we were approached by a host.
Plan accordingly, since all the restaurant kitchens close at 8 p.m. and the only places open late serve either pizza, curry or fish and chips.
For a country known for its appreciation of spirits, I was surprised to find out that there are strict regulations on the sale of alcohol at liquor stores, known as off-licenses. Sales stop at 10 p.m., encouraging drinking at pubs or restaurants instead of in the privacy of your own home.
Culture
There is a strong sense of community here. Everyone is incredibly welcoming and kind to travelers and strangers alike. I found people quite spirited for living in an often gray landscape known primarily for its rain. Stoicism and a teasing “take the piss” attitude disguise refreshingly candid, creative and caring people.
Locals joked that they are familiar with our accent because their Irish children grow up with “Youtube accents” from watching Americans online, an unsettling product of globalism.
The acceptance of immigrants is evident as newcomers integrate into previously established communities. Ireland’s census states that even rural Drumlish, my ancestral home, went from 275 residents in 1991 to 931 in 2016.
The Irish Times reports that while immigration from countries all over the world has risen to its highest since 2008, it has not matched the number of citizens leaving. Emigration reached its peak in 2011, but the 2016 census states it has dropped over 15 percent in people in their 20s.
Younger generations began emigrating due to acute housing shortages and the rising cost of living. But while some born on the island are eager to leave, many travelers choose to stay.
At a pub in Cork, French immigrant Florent Eon laughed when I shared that we had extended our stay in Galway two days. He said he started out a Galway tourist as well. Now working in customer service at Amazon, he chose to relocate to Ireland and has lived there for the past 12 years.
If they cooked a better burger, I would be there already.
