Wicklow Weekend

Catherine (Dolly) is from a small little town in Co. Wicklow and since she thinks I should get out of Dublin and see more of Ireland she invited Karen, Ben and myself to go with her and Andrew to see a back road tour of Ireland. It helps that she had a car to help make this dream happen. We met at Karen’s and headed south, first scenic pass through Rathdrum to Aughrim and then to the glen of imall, sliabh na mbo (hill of the cows), Fear Breag (the scarecrow), Knockanucragh, Knockannana and then into Tinahely (her little village). This route is all mountain country and since it was a crisp clear day we got great views. She had the three of us stay in a little cabin in the woods, it was quaint quiet and picturesque countryside rolling out in front of us. I thought some of the little black sheep were running quite fast in the meadow just out our window, but really it was the dog... I need to get my eyes checked at my advanced age...

Catherine and her brother Paul gave us the grand tour of Tinahely, all 4 pubs, 2 chippers, and 1 dodgy nightclub of it! There were a few little shops where we picked up food to make for dinner, Spaghetti! We got to meet her family and the little puppy we had heard so much about. Karen is deathly afraid of dogs, so I was her body guard.

After our meal we head out to the smallest little pub, The Dying Cow in Stratnakelly. We got quite lost trying to find it, but it was well worth it. The pub was packed full of the locals, maybe 25 of us in total, where we piled into a corner and just sat back and enjoyed our pints. A bunch of auld ones were playing bridge in the corner and every once in a while, when the mood struck them, a fiddle and a guitarist would strike up a tune, and then go back to their pints. The old stone structure was no bigger then an old one room house. I felt almost intrusive, but never unwelcome. It was a great little pub with good ceol agus craic. The little bird nest above the loo that was partially exterior was just the topping on the cake. You do not get more authentic of an Irish Pub. Since Catherine was driving and wanted to have a good night herself, we drove into town and headed to the new nightclub. It was massive, but was nowhere near half full. The girls took to the dance floor and we had Andrew to protect us from anyone trying to rub up on us since he looks like someone you do not want to cross. We shut the place down and headed back to our cabin. I slept so soundly being in the country with no noise and no light shining into our windows.

After a fryup the next morning we checked out and went for a walk in town while Catherine got her chores done at home and washed the dog. Ben, Karen and I walked along the road snapping pictures, oogaling over the motorcycle boys driving by, fancy cars and tractors. As we neared the school we could hear music playing at lo and behold there was a car/tractor show going on. We checked out all the cars that were sparkling in the sunshine. It was a beautiful day out and ice cream was in order. We enjoyed our ice cream until we came to a little bench. The three of us became the Tinahely welcoming committee. With the one finger wave, you just lift your index finger slightly and give a little nod. The drivers thought we were silly and we were!

Once we had a spot of lunch we took off into the countryside through winding roads, peat carved hills and through ‘forests’ of pine trees. Pines are not native to Ireland, but they tried to have a timber industry so the ‘forests’ are square since the owners planted as many trees as the could on a square acre and then harvest them when the time comes. Karen fell asleep on my shoulder as we cruised through the rolling country. We stopped every now and again so Ben could photograph the vistas. We passed through Laragh and stopped in Hollywood at some old ruins where Karen and I dangled our feet off the bridge over looking the valley and roaring river. Eventually we ended up back in Dublin. A good weekend away was what we all needed to recharge the batteries.