Kiss me, I'm Irish!

I'm third generation Irish, and although my grandmother was born just after her parents arrived in Australia she always spoke about 'the motherland'. Getting to Ireland was almost like coming home, with the Irish sense of humour and culture being the closest to Australian that I've come across yet. I arrived in Dublin with Garigarra and stayed in a hostel dorm room with over 20 people, which was an overwhelming experience, but also very easy on the wallet. 

The Guinness storehouse

The Liffey river

I feel like I spent most of my time not only in the UK, but also in Ireland in pubs. There's something about the British and Irish pub culture that doesn't quite translate to the rest of the world. We did quite a bit of walking around the city, checking out some famous landmarks, historic buildings, and of course the local shops. We also made sure to stop by the Liffey river to have a Guinness (the best place for a pint according to my father), or should I say I had a Guinness, whereas Gari opted for the far girlier option of a banana cocktail. As night fell we headed to Temple bar, typical I know. It may not be the nicest area in Dublin, but they sure know how to have a good time!

Kilmacduagh cemetary

After a few days in Dublin together we headed over to Galway, where I left Gari and headed off into the unknown on my way to Gort County. At this point I wasn't exactly sure what to expect as I hadn't had the most productive phone conversations with my Grandmothers cousin, but was hopeful, and thought I'd at least have a nice afternoon with the family. Turns out the abrupt phone conversation is ingrained into older Irish people due to the prior extravagant expenses of phone calls, and I arrived to the most welcoming hug from a man I'd never met before. I spent almost a week meeting cousins I'd never before dreaming of meeting, getting to know the family I was staying with, in particular the two boys who were 10 and adorably feisty, and the other was in his mid teens with an amazing sense of humour. I also had the amazing experience of visiting the cemetery that several of my ancestors were built, seeing such familiar names printed on headstones in another country was quite profound. I was incredibly sad to leave, with just in time to have one full day back in London to shop, eat and have a night out. It was a bit of a 'see you later' to a country I had so quickly fallen in love with, and a promise that I would see everyone again soon. 

The cousins

-Melissa