I Love Ireland!

The first time I visited Ireland 30 years ago, I fell in love. I already knew a bunch of Irish people, and had played soccer on an all-Irish women's team in San Francisco for a year in 1987-88. I could tell where people were from based on their accents, due to having spent many happy hours in the Plough & Stars in San Francisco with Irish people from all over the island. I knew the songs of Christy Moore and Paul Brady, and could sing Mary Black's entire repertoire (and often did!).

But I never knew how "at home" I would feel until I found myself scampering like a young girl in an empty castle yard on the western edge of Lough Corrib, in Oughterard. It had to be my DNA intuition that brought me to Aughnanure; it was a one-star attraction in my Michelin guide, but somehow it called my name - and all these years later, it still does. Below, pics from Aughnanure Castle, April 2018.

I'm planning my next trip now, which will be my 12th or 13th; I've lost count. I leave in 48 hours. I'll post more from Dublin this weekend!