Home Is Where The Heart Is

The weekend after I was in London, I spent the weekend with my mom’s first cousin and Aunt Anne’s sister, Mary and her family in Dublin. I was really looking forward to seeing Dublin because although I travel in and out of Dublin, I have only seen the airport. Mary and her youngest daughter, Róisín, picked me up from the bus station in Dublin. Mary and Aunt Anne sound and look so much alike. I mean all the Giblin sisters do, but I think Mary and Aunt Anne are the most similar when it comes to looks. When we arrived at the Culligan house, I was greeted by Mary’s son, Tom. He was so polite. He immediately asked me if he could take my bag and coat to my room. I don’t think I have ever experienced that kind of service before. Mary had a delicious dinner made for us, and I was absolutely starving after the three-hour bus ride from Galway. That night, we all just hung out and sat by the fire. My idea of a perfect night. As I have said before, one of the things I miss most about home is sitting in the family room next to the fire. I imagine my mom will have one waiting for me when I get home on December 19^th. She actually said in one of her emails to me, “When you get home I can’t wait to sit in front of the fire with your head on my shoulder and hear about everything.” Three weeks left, Mom, three weeks left. After everyone else went to bed Kate, Mary’s oldest daughter who is 14, and I watched the movie, Temple Grandin. I definitely recommend this movie. I didn’t expect a lot from it never hearing of it before, but it blew me away. It is a true story about a woman with autism. This movie really shows you inside the head of someone with autism. It was incredible!Claire Danes played Temple Grandin, and she was brilliant.

The next day, Kate took me around Dublin. She showed me Grafton Street, Temple Bar, the Molly Malone statue, and Trinity College. People in Ireland walk everywhere. Kate and I took the bus into town, but Kate said she and her friends will usually walk. I was shocked when she said this. I thought the walk to the bus stop was long, but then we had to take a 15-minute bus ride as well. That’s why Kate is so skinny; she walks everywhere: school, her friends’ houses, town, etc. That night we went to mass. I was so excited because at home my family goes to mass on Saturday evenings and ever since I have been here I have only gone on Sunday mornings. It reminded me a lot of home. There were a lot of kids in the congregation, which was nice to see as well. After mass, we came home for dinner and spent another night around the fire. Seriously, I was in my glory this weekend. I wish I could spend every night in Ireland around the fire, all cozy under a warm blanket. Kate and I watched another movie, The Women. We didn’t like this one as much as Temple Grandin, but it was okay. The whole cast was women, never once did we see a man or even a boy. It was pretty interesting.

The next morning Mary’s sister, Kate, picked me up to go up to Northern Ireland for a couple of days. I didn’t want to leave the Culligan’s. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. I felt so at home. Claire and her kids came up that Sunday for Halloween, which was the next day. All the kids were off from school that week for a fall break, so before we left we got to see Claire, Mary Ann, Martha, Fionnán and Kate again. I know Martha was so excited to see Róisín. When I visited Claire a couple months ago, Martha said how much fun Róisín and her had trick-or-treating in Dublin last year. I forgot to mention that whenever someone comes over, whether it’s Claire or Kate, Tom greets them with a hug. How sweet is that? I don’t know any 11-year-old boy that would do that. Cathal, Mary’s 12-year-old son is just as nice and polite and what I hear, quite the soccer player. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in Dublin long enough to see him play, but all the more reason to come back, right? So after many goodbyes, I was off with Kate to see Northern Ireland.

Many of you don’t know this, but Kate is quite the traveler. She went on the Camino de Santiago, a Spanish pilgrimage, for four weeks this past September. Did anyone see the movie, The Way, with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez? Well that’s what the movie is about. I haven’t seen it, but it looks really good. Anyways, Kate has been all over the world! You think all her traveling would make her a very relaxed and confident driver. Not so much. On our way to Northern Ireland, we picked up one of Kate’s friends from Australia, Mike. Mike and Kate have traveled together in Nepal, Spain and Ireland and are great friends. The first thing Mike asked me was, “So what do you think of Kate’s driving?” I had only been in the car with Kate for like 10 minutes, and his question made me really nervous. I came to realize that Kate is just a very cautious and slow driver. Two things I’m sure my mom will appreciate since according to her, I am very “precious cargo.” After a few hours of driving we stopped in County Meath to see a passage tomb, specifically the one in Newgrange. I had never seen a passage tomb before so it was pretty neat because we were able to go inside the tomb and walk all around it. Kate’s style of travel is to just kind of go with the flow. I am a big planner so it was different for me, but I really enjoyed myself. It was much more relaxed and a lot less stressful.

After our tour of Newgrange, we headed even more north toward Giant’s Causeway. For those who don’t know, Giant’s Causeway is an area in the Northeastern part of Northern Ireland in County Antrim. As a result of an ancient volcanic eruption, there are about 40,000 basalt columns that disappear downward toward the sea. I’m just realizing now how hard it is to explain because let’s be honest, who knows what basalt columns are, so look it up online or just check out my pictures below. We actually didn’t make it to the Giant’s Causeway that day (we got a bit lost, I mean, took the scenic route) so we stayed in the small town of Cookstown in County Tyrone. We were off early the next morning to see the Giant’s Causeway. When we reached about 8 miles outside Giant’s Causeway, Kate pulled over and parked the car in a harbor. I didn’t quite know what was going on, but it didn’t take me long to realize we were going to walk the 8 miles to Giant’s Causeway. Yes, I was going to walk the 8 miles in my Northface, jeans, and new Sperry Topsiders. As we started walking, we realized we were going the wrong way. So we turned around and then we walked up and around this hill just to get back to where we started. Finally we started walking along the beach because if we walked along the coast it would take us directly to Giant’s Causeway. However, the beach came to and end, so Kate thought if we went up this hill it would take us to the main road. Needless to say, we ended up in a field of brush that came all the way up to my waist. We were forging our own path because honestly I think we were the first people ever to walk through this area. We then continued to climb over some people’s fence and make our way onto the road. I have never been more excited to see concrete below my feet in my entire life! As we walked the rest of the way to Giant’s Causeway, it began to rain. So we stood on the side of a closed coffee house and waited for it to stop. Once it stopped raining we continued our walk until we reached the small town of Portballintrae. We were all very hungry by this point, so we stopped for lunch. We had been walking for 5 miles, although I think it was longer with all the detours we made. Since it rained, my clothes and shoes were soaking wet, and I was freezing. Kate and Mike were just as wet, but it didn’t bother them in the least bit. I guess I’m just not meant for the outdoors. After lunch, we took a taxi (thank goodness!) back to our car and drove to Giant’s Causeway. I think Mike realized how cold I was and convinced Kate to take a taxi. Thank you, Mike! Now, I realize I'm coming off like I didn't enjoy my time with Kate, but I want you to know that's not true in the least. I had a great time talking with her and Mike about their travels, I just realized on this trip that I am not an outdoorsy person. I'd rather spend my day inside, probably cleaning out a closet or something like that.

Giant’s Causeway was absolutely beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like it. I am currently campaigning for it to be included in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World. The rock formations are so unique, and the way the waves hit them are breathtaking. Hands down, one of my favorite parts of Ireland. After the Giant’s Causeway, we drove back to Galway, and I took one of the best showers I have ever taken. I was still so cold and wet from the Giant’s Causeway that a hot shower was exactly what I needed. After a good night sleep, I got up for my only class the next day and headed back to Loughglynn, where my Aunt Kitty lives. Since all the kids were off from school this week, Mary came down to Loughglynn with Kate, Tom and Róisín. Some of my classes were cancelled for a few different reasons, so it worked out perfectly. That night we celebrated Fionnán’s 4^th birthday. Everyone came to Granny Kitty’s for some delicious cake. I was so happy to see everyone again. Claire and Kitty are so welcoming that I consider Loughglynn home. I wish I could spend all my time there.

The next day we all went to mass for All Soul’s Day, and it was Martha’s first time altar serving.At different points during the mass, the altar server is supposed to ring the bells. Sometimes it can be easy to forget when exactly to ring the bells, but thanks to Granny Kitty there was no problem. The first time Martha was a little late ringing the bells, Granny Kitty shook her rosary beads in the air to get her attention so she knew to ring them. Then every time after that when Martha needed to ring the bells, she got a little reminder from Granny Kitty and her rosary beads. It was so funny because by the end everyone in the church could hear the rosary beads and they knew the bells were coming.

That night, Mary and Kitty took me to see Johnny Kelly, the man who introduced my grandparents over 50 years ago. Sometimes when my grandpa has a few too many drinks, he will say, “God bless Johnny Kelly.” I was so excited when Kitty suggested we go see him. He lives alone now after “his Bridie” died and is so lonely, but he is the one of the kindest and sweetest men ever. Kitty and him pretty much chatted about people I don’t know, but he also told me how he introduced my Nana and Papa. It was so cute! When I get home in December, I am planning on asking my Nana and Papa their memories of that night and videotaping their answers.

Unfortunately, my trip came to an end the next day. I was so sad leaving because I really do feel like home in Loughglynn with Kitty, Claire, Mary and their kids. Next time my Aunt Anne comes to Ireland, I plan on packing myself in her suitcase just so I can see everyone again.Hopefully, within the next three weeks (Do you believe it? That’s all the time I have left here!) I will be able to see them all again!

Well, I guess that’s it! Again, I’m so sorry for not being better at keeping my blog up-to-date, but my last final is a week from Wednesday, so then I will have all the time in the world to update you. That is if I’m not visiting the Aran Islands or my Uncle Mikie and Winifred in the home-house in Cloonshee. So look out for my next few blog entries about my weekends in Madrid, Dingle Co. Kerry (with my Papa’s younger sister Eileen), Auntie Margaret (my Papa’s older sister) and this past weekend with Hannah’s parents in Dublin. Thanks to all of you still reading, and although I have fallen in love with Ireland, specifically Galway, I can’t wait to see you all again soon!

Love, Molly

Newgrange Passage Tomb

The entrance to the passage tomb

Kate and I at Giant's Causeway

Solo picture! I have a lot of these.

Kate and I

Fionnán and his birthday present, a tractor just like his dad's

Kitty and me

Happy Birthday Fionnán!

Tom being silly

Me, Johnny Kelly and Kitty

I am realizing now that I didn't take any pictures while I was visiting Mary and the Culligan's in Dublin. I guess that shows how much fun I was having that I forgot to even take out my camera. I guess they just have to come out to Chicago so you can all meet them :)