First Report From IR

We're here and having a great time.  Oh yes, here is Tarmonbarry.  Tonight's dinner in the pub (not the restaurant) was salmon and was outstanding.  Flight was smooth; arrival and treatment in Ashbourne was just great.  Last night we did the Literary Pub Crawl in Dublin and this morning we travelled from Ashbourne to Tara; to Trim; to Mulligar; to Longford; and then to Tarmonbarry.  Only one "fly in the ointment."  I forgot to pack the card reader for the digital camera images.  This was first realized last night when I sat down to copy the pics I had taken.  It was only then that I realized that in having changed computer bags before leaving I forgot to repack the reader.  Says something about check lists - no?  In any event the stop in Mulligar was not only to walk the streets but to pick-up a reader.  Good fortune turned sour tonight when I went to connect and discovered the reader was "PC only."  Maybe I'll be set tomorrow, although it is Sunday in rural IR.  In any event the pics and stories will wait for a day or two.  Get ready!  There will be stories about Brendan Behan,  a "snug" room, cows and pies (your mother would prefer I not say cow pies without separation), Mel Gibson, and the latest in fashion for Irish ladies (maybe not ladies?).  

To prepare for Behan it's enough to know that he was truly a souse.  He was a popular literary figure here and abroad but managed only 44 years.  He started drinking at age 8 when his grandmother would send him out for a bottle and he would return home with a less than full bottle having swigged and gulped along the way.  His answer was to fill the loss in the bottle with water and we are to believe his grandmother never knew.  His death at 44 was a result of (guess what) alcohol poisoning.  At the time of his death there were 700 pubs in Dublin, most all of which he had frequented at one time or another.  While in one of the pubs he sat up erectly on his stool and decided he would travel to Canada.  He announced his intentions to the barkeep and when asked why, he responded that he had been moved by the sign behind the bar.  The bartender turned around and read the sign: "Drink Canada Dry."  Of course Behan's interpretation was to drink Canada dry.  He did travel to Canada to follow one of his plays but failed in emptying the reserves.  A colorful character whose name came up several times last night in the "crawl" and for whom there are other stories to share but not all appropriate for this blog.

Oh, by the way,  I think there are a total of 2 ATMs (at least that we could find) in the Dublin airport.  Maybe we were just tired after the flight but lugging around suitcases and looking for ATMs was a challenge. Bring your Euros with you.

Til tomorrow ...