Ireland: A Snap Shot View

In 2001, before 9-11, I had the opportunity to visit Ireland with 4 people I hadn't met up until that point and 1 person I had known only for a few months. Since one of my fellow travelers had plans to open a pub when he returned to America, we did a lot of research on his behalf and visited the famous Guinness Storehouse, in addition to quite a few drinking establishments.

We started in Dublin, drove down to Kilkenny, stopped at their 13th century castle, and ended up in Kinsale, the gourmet capital of the south.

It was here, in Old Head, we gave our respects to the ship Lusitania that went down off the coast in May 1915 and wondered about the history of these two items.

We climbed the 127 narrow stairs to the top of the obligatory Blarney Castle, foregoing the kiss and actually preferring the gardens to the hype.

And all throughout, we paid homage to Ireland's long fight for self determination and independence. I brought back three things with me: a reinforced respect for the country, a nubby open-weave scarf I still wear and this poem: I was here, here I was, was I here, yes, I was.