Spreading Eloquence One Curran at a Time
- Aug 15, 2016
- 2 min read
Such a magical day!
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We set off in three cars for Blarney Castle and stopped for coffee and the first scone of the trip- delish! The group all gathered to climb to the top of the castle which was a slow, steep, and tortuous journey. Some of us felt distinctly uncomfortable with the well worn steps so difficult to climb (thank goodness for the hand rope). The goal of this climb is to kiss the famous Blarney Stone, bestowing upon the intrepid visitor a gift of eloquence in exchange for the bravery of lying down on an old mat, leaning back as far as the back will arch, dropping down about a foot below the platform, and reaching out to smooch a smooth, dry slab of limestone. In the old days, the assistants held people by the ankles to achieve this task, but these days, handles help lower the seeker of eloquence while a helper guides and holds them and bars below stand ready to break a fall. Millions of us have tried (including celebs ranging from Winston Churchill to Mick Jagger), and many of us chicken out or peck at the boulder above to abbreviate the task, but the rest of us muscle through, plant our mouths firmly, albeit briefly, and crunch back up to escape the crowd and navigate the narrow spiral stairs back to the ground.
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We shopped in Blarney at the Woolen Mills with Rich, Neil, Maggie, and Padraic all buying Irish knit sweaters and other things. Carrie bought yarn to knit a scarf (which she's been working on diligently). Then we drove to the fishing village of Kinsale.
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The first stop was to find a beverage at a cool little pub called Kitty O Se's. Two young sisters calling themselves "The Forget Me Nots" performed a great set with songs ranging from The Dixie Chicks to The Beatles. We struck up a conversation with an American couple named Liam Shanahan and Eileen. Liam told me about all of his family history and his previous trips. On one, his family coincidently fell upon family members in Galway and one of his "clairvoyant" cousins claimed that she had known they were coming. What a cute couple! They're from Ohio and it's Eileen's first trip. We listened to the girls who traded off leads and sang harmonies like one voice. Quite lovely.
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We departed with the affection of well met friends and I impulsively announced, "I may not be a clairvoyant fortune teller, but I see an engagement in your future!" We did not not know at that time that we would be seeing each other again in a few days.
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After our musical happy hour, we strolled around the pretty little town and then had a delicious dinner at The White House. Just imagine the dinner conversation shared by the fourteen Americans that night, armed with a fresh new gift of gab! We shared many laughs and lively chatter, or as the Irish say, we had plenty of the craic!
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