Well, we certainly picked an interesting time for our trip to Ireland’s west coast! Hurricane Humberto barrelled across the North Atlantic at the beginning of October, morphed into Storm Amy, and hit Ireland on the 3rd of October, just as we arrived in County Galway. Our plans to enjoy bracing walks along the coast soon changed. Fortunately Ireland more than made up for the weather with great bars, restaurants, live music, and reunions with family and friends.
Arriving into Dublin airport on the Wednesday, we picked up a hire car and drove across to the West, spending our first night in Doolin, famed for its live traditional Irish music scene. We were not disappointed, and the music we heard in the pub that evening is now on the soundtrack to a little video I made, and which is posted below.
The weather was beginning to deteriorate by the next morning, as we drove on to Clifden for more great music and food. After a night there our plan was then to continue on to Westport. Storm Amy had other plans, however, and we soon found the roads to be flooded and impassable as we tried to drive out of Clifden. Fortunately, we found accommodation in Clifden, in a lovely converted Quay house on the edge of the bay. It was owned by a French family who had filled the house with quirky paintings, antiques and stuffed animals. To cap it, we had another great meal in town, at a restaurant recommended by the Quay house owner, then spent the late evening in a bar listening to a local band – the House Cats – who had just released their first album on Spotify, and who were fantastic: our third live band in the first three days!
We nearly spent a third night in Clifden – the road back out to Galway was still flooded when we tried to leave. Luckily, we found an alternative route and drove to Swinford, stopping at Knock airport to pick up Cate’s brother, David. Their aunt, Margaret, very kindly had us to stay in her house. We also, and unexpectedly, got to see two of Cate’s uncles, Liam who was visiting from England, and Val who lives in Swinford, and Cate’s aunt Tina, visiting with her husband Donal from Clifden, giving Cate and David an opportunity to catch up with the family news. We had time to take a trip out to Downpatrick head, with the seas still fierce in the aftermath of the storm, and all too soon we were back on the road to Dublin.
Thankfully the weather was starting to improve by the time we reached Dublin, perfect for wandering around the city. We met two of my friends from way back: Peadar and Brìd, both of whom I knew from my junior medical days – they were fellow trainees working in Shrewsbury in the early 1990’s, and both had gone on to have careers in England before returning to Ireland and continuing working in Dublin. It had been years since I had seen either of them, and it was terrific to meet up again. With Andrew (Peadar’s partner) the five of us went for a dinner on our first evening in Dublin, and the next day Peadar took us on a guided tour of the city – he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Dublin’s sights and history. On our last evening we went round to Brìd’s house, then on to a seafood restaurant where she treated us all to a delicious meal. In between, on our second evening, we went to see another of Cate’s aunts – Marion, with her husband Lou, with further catching up on family news.
Just a week ago, and after nine days in Ireland, it was time to fly back to London. We had had a lovely time, even if some of our abiding memories were of battling the howling winds and driving rain! Our friends and family and entertained us royally – we certainly need a few days of dieting now! Back in London we went to Ros’ second 60th birthday party – a great meal at a fine Italian restaurant in Chiswick. …but that is another story, and we have now driven back in France for (we hope) a few weeks of walking and trying to get our fitness back ahead of skiing in December. Meanwhile, I have put together a short video of our time visiting the West coast…