Ireland Archives - Page 8 of 47 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

Roysh, here’s where ledges toast Irish rugby

16th March 202416th March 2024 funtime65

And we sent Daddy’s Little Girl and her beau off to Dublin with this local knowledge… roysh, here’s where ledges toast Irish rugby.

Straight from Ross O’Carroll-Kelly’s mouth, the greatest player Ireland never picked (but still has his boots laced).

The cult hero of the Paul Howard books, Ross, of course, takes a passport with him.

When he leaves D4, the home of Leinster and the national team.

It’s Ross, ye Ken

And he helpfully wrote a manual to help visitors to D4, South Dublin How to get by on, like €10,000 a day.

Which was close to the mark in the Celtic Tiger days at the start of my 13-year stint working in Ballsbridge.

Along the road from the Aviva Stadium, or Lansdowne Road in old money.

Now Ireland’s standing in the game has changed since I were a lad and they were easy-beats.

Now you’d have to go back to 2010 for the Jocks’ last victory in Dublin.

When Ross and his Castlerock alumni started the proceedings early in Kiely’s.

And where a plaque was erected in the loo to Ross.

Which read: ‘This plaque has been erected in honour of Ross O’Carroll Kelly who hit and missed here for many years.’

A Mecca for the Boys in Green, it has alas given way to regress, housing, two years ago.

Ballsbridge bar crawl

Back when Ross was splashing €10k a day in the Celtic Tiger Days he and his dodgy sheepskin-coated dad would hold fort in the Ice Bar.

In the institution that is the InterCon where all the rock stars (and me) go when they are playing the RDS.

Now Ross drinks his Ken (short for Heineken) in the Bridge (or Bridge 1859), formerly Bellamy’s.

Down the steps from Embassy House where I worked and the Herbert Park Hotel.

The Bridge is owned by D4 rugby royalty, Jamie Heaslip, Rob and Dave Kearney, Sean O’Brien and businessman Noel Anderson.

And if you’re fortunate you’ll bump into them although hopefully not literally as you’ll bounce right back.

Now, if you find yourself forced out onto the street, or you want the crawl then Paddy Cullen’s/Mary Mac’s may be your next stop.

Local artworks, caricatures, sporting memorabilia and hunting pictures line the wood-panelled walls and onto the ceiling.

All of which make you feel like you’re one of those ledges.

Horses of courses

The Horse Show House Bar, further along Merrion Road, is the biggest in the area and boasts a beer garden and the best barbies.

With most importantly a killer big screen for the game.

Its name is a nod to the Royal Dublin Showground, the RDS, where Leinster play their home games.

Searsons, on Upper Baggot Street is reputed to pour the best Guinness in Dublin (whisper that around Ross).

And this being Dublin, Roaring Bay Mussels, alive, alive-o.

In white wine cream with toasted sourdough.

Plain and simple

Of course, it would be remiss not to mention my cousins’ bar.

Workshop Bistro (formerly Kennedy’s Bar) on the Liffey, next to Tara Street Station.

Which though not South Dublin does sell the best Guinness, or plain, in Dublin.

So roysh, here’s where ledges toast Irish rugby.

America, Countries, Ireland, Music, UK

Rainy days and Mumsdays

10th March 202410th March 2024 funtime65

And on the first Mothering Sunday since we lost ours six months ago I’m singing Teasy’s praises with Rainy days and Mumsdays.

A twist on our occasional series Rainy Days and Songdays, our fusion of music and travel.

There can only be one place to start with this Rainy days and Mumsdays… where it all began in her beloved Brockagh, Co. Donegal in the north-west of Ireland.

Now all mums are unique, and we weren’t to know that other children weren’t lullabied to sleep with Irish rebel songs like Johnston’s Motor Car.

But Teasy’s cow eyes would twinkle when she would break out into ‘Down by Brockagh Corner one morning I did stray…’

Grannie’s song

Teasy’s folk: With her parents’ wedding photo

It was invariably Irish trad songs, revived by bands such as The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers and The Furys that she would return.

With Donegal Danny and Derry Hair/Danny Boy, another close to her heart to remind her of her brother Danny, one of four who emigrated to America.

The crossover between Irish/Scottish folk and American Country music led her to rootsy Americana.

And John Denver and his anthem Annie’s Song which he wrote in celebration of his wife in ten minutes on a ski lift in Colorado.

And whose Greatest Hits album I would buy for her with the pocket money I’d saved up one Mother’s Day.

Annie’s Song would be the background music to my brother’s wedding, mine, and when it came to it, her funeral.

As Grannie’s Song for her grandchildren.

Pipes are calling

Swirl power: At World Bagpipes Championships

Today’s Mothering Sunday coincides with International Bagpipe Day.

Now, in Mum’s 70 years in Scotland where she had decamped to be with my Mum she became a big fan of the pipers practising in the fields near our house.

And I am reminded of a special two days I spent with Mum at the World Pipe Band Championships.

In Glasgow Green in her adopted Glasgow.

Where our hosts wined and dined us admirably despite Mum’s attempts to pay.

Always up for any experience we explored the National Piping Centre.

And even took in a performance from the Red Hot Chilli Pipers until her ears gave in.

But that appetite for life, a quality which made her such a voracious traveller, still burns bright.

And on today more brightly still.

When I will jig in her memory and I’ll give three cheers for Teasy McNulty and Johnston’s Motor Car.

Countries, Deals, Europe, Ireland, UK

Riviera trail around Europe

6th March 20246th March 2024 funtime65

We all know about the French Riviera but here we are across the Riviera trail around Europe… all for you.

We have, of course, Rivieras on this island of ours.

The Scottish Riviera (Dumfries and Galloway in the south-west, and that includes my childhood haunt of Castle Douglas, if I’m allowed back!)

The English version, south-west again, around Torbay in Devon, the Welsh one, around the Italianate Portmeirion in the north.

Hit the coast

Ireland’s on the Sunny South Coast, the Athens Riviera in Greece, Portugal’s to the west of Lisbon.

And Riviera being an Italian word obviously the Italian one between France and Tuscany.

Of course if you want to you can blag it yourself, better though leaving it to experts which is where Riviera Travel come in.

Fresh to our schedule is RT’s European 2025 programme.

With seven new tours for Irish guests, departing from April to October 2025.

And a lower maximum group size of 36 people on its Classic tours.

Tours go on sale on March 13, with a pre-sale open today, March 6.

Forza Italia

Sicily – eight days, with a guided tour of Greek ruins in the Valley of the Temples, and visits to Taormina and Mount Etna. Prices from €1929pp.

Florence & Tuscany – eight days, with sightseeing tours of Florence and Siena, reserved timed visit to the Uffizi art gallery, visits to Lucca and Pisa, and tour of the Tuscan countryside. Prices from €1839pp

Classical Italy – eight days, with guided tours of Rome, Siena and Florence, and a guided walking tour of Arezzo. Prices from €1819pp.

* Krakow – four days, with a guided walking tour of Krakow, and Wawel Royal Castle District, and optional tours of Auschwitz-Birkenau and salt mines. Prices from €839pp.

Further afield

Classic Greece – eight days, with walking tours of the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum, as well as Olympia, Delphi, and visits to Athens and Nafplion. Prices from €2129pp.

Austrian Tyrol & Innsbruck – eight days, with a sightseeing tour of Innsbruck, the Achensee Cog Railway, and a choice of a guided walking tour of Bolzano or visit to see Oetzi at the Museum of Archaeology. Prices from €2109pp.

Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast – eight days, with a guided tour of Dubrovnik, a visit to Krka National Park, a tour of Split, and a visit to Trogir and the Dalmatian Coast. Prices from €1979pp.

And ones we prepared before

A series of existing tours are also on sale for 2025:

Puglia, Lecce & Vieste – Undiscovered Italy

Lake Como, St Moritz & the Bernina Express

Classical Spain

Pompeii, Capri & the Bay of Naples

Lake Maggiore, Orta & the Matterhorn

Lake Garda, Venice & Verona

Spain’s Basque Country, La Rioja & Burgos

Deal us in

Guests who book by 30 April can save €100 on all 2025 Classic tours of six nights or longer.

All departures include return flights and transfers, accommodation, tours and visits, select meals and an expert tour manager throughout.

Countries, Ireland, UK

Dupe your foot into Northern Ireland

27th February 202427th February 2024 funtime65

And because perception is everything yir pals in Ulster are only getting you to dupe your foot into Northern Ireland with their alternative bucket list attractions.

Catching the trend for fashion that is #dupe on TikTok with over 5.9 billion views.

Our ever-original NI buddies have come up with their own take, TakeTok if you like, on affordable travel destinations.

Tourism Northern Ireland has found counterparts that allow you to enjoy similar exciting experiences much closer to home, at a fraction of the cost.

And we’re indebted to the Wild Irish Wanderer Kevin Penrose for his pics here and hope to catch up with him on our travels.

Belfast food market

St George’s Market, Belfast, County Antrim (dupe for Time Out Market, Lisbon, Portugal)

While Time Out Market in Lisbon champions the best of the city’s traders and we’re thinking fish wriggling everywhere, St George’s Market in Belfast does exactly the same.

Thanks to its fresh, local produce, live music and electric atmosphere, St George’s Market was named the UK’s Best Large Indoor Market at the NABMA Great British Market Awards last year.

Open Friday through Sunday, this market is one of Belfast’s oldest attractions and is an essential destination for visitors of all ages.

Rope a dope

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Ballintoy, County Antrim (dupe for Dachstein Skywalk, Austria)

Now we’ve all been marched out on one of those skywalks to marvel at the drop below.

But for a real highwire experience then you need look no further than the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge on the Causeway Coast.

Much like the Dachstein Sky Walk in Austria traverse this narrow rope bridge, hanging high above the Atlantic Ocean.

First erected by salmon fishermen more than 350 years ago, thousands of people now cross the bridge each year… and deffo not with a toddler daughter on your shoulders.

Dome rule

Finn Lough Forest Domes, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh (dupe for Ridgeback Lodge, Canada)

People travel far and wide to experience spectacular night-time stargazing in bubble domes, like those on offer at Ridgeback Lodge in Canada.

But why go so far when the same experience and spectacular views is just up the road?

Finn Lough in County Fermanagh serves up uninterrupted views of the starry skies from a luxury bubble dome.

While its hot and cold therapy treatment cabins will leave you feeling renewed.

Cave dwellers

Marble Arch Caves, County Fermanagh (dupe for Hida Cave, Japan)

And the only part of Ireland where there is no border… under the ground.

At Northern Ireland’s answer to the natural beauty of the limestone Hida Cave in Japan.

Marvel at the labyrinth of waterfalls and lofty chambers that make up the Marble Arch Caves.

Take a guided tour and try the first-of-its kind VR experience for an understanding of the cave system’s 340-million-year history.

The Mourne legacy

Mourne Wall, Mourne Mountains, County Down (dupe for the Great Wall of China)

While the Great Wall of China can be seen from space, adventurers need not travel that far to walk alongside a feat of human engineering that traverses valleys and mountains.

The Mourne Mountains in County Down boasts a wall passing over 14 of the 15 mountains it scales.

And, if you’re lucky, you might bump into one of the fifth-generation stone masons repairing it.

Countries, Ireland, Pilgrimage

St Brigid woven into the Irish story and calendar

16th January 202416th January 2024 funtime65

She’s a constant reminder of where we’re from, and now we’re happy to see St Brigid woven into the Irish story and calendar.

The St Brigid’s Cross is quintessentially Irish, a squinty cross made out of rushes in the country.

Marketed up and down the island and hanging on every wall of the Irish diaspora, of which I’m one.

Ours was courtesy of myself and a souvenir I brought home from my travels in the West of Ireland with my cousins.

Which I knew that my Dear Old Irish Mammy would love and put beside a multitude of other Irish paraphernalia…

Irish Cottages, Sacred Hearts of Jesuses, a Little Child of Prague and shamrocks galore.

The idea of the St Brigid’s Cross was that they would hang over the door of a house and ward off evil.

Its other symbolism is that it heralds in the Spring season.

All of which gives us the perfect opportunity to promote Ireland at its greenest with our old pals at Discover Ireland.

Particularly with Monday, February 5, now being designated Ireland’s newest bank holiday.

The thrills of Donegal

And because that’s where I first saw and learned about St Brigid, let’s go to the hills of Donegal for spring which was our annual pilgrimage.

And where we stood at the cliffs of Sliabh Liag and looked out across Donegal Bay to Sligo.

Discover Ireland recommend Donegal Town, less than an hour’s drive from the cliffs, while in truth anywhere in where you’ll find accommodation and plenty of cosy spots to refuel.

Bridge the generations

Now despite my Irish Mammy’s protestations that Donegal is the best of the 32 Irish counties, others exist too and Brigid is associated with Kildare.

She is said to have been the daughter of a chieftain and a slave woman, raised in a druid’s household, who went on to found Kildare Abbey in the sixth century.

And is a patroness of poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock and dairy productions.

One of the quirkier stories, and remember this is Ireland who have a monopoly on the bizarre, surrounds butter.

Important in those days and these and who doesn’t spread their bread with Kerrygold now?

Well, the young Brig is said to have given away her mother’s entire store of butter.

Before it was then replenished in answer to Brigid’s prayers, probably because Mammy was going to give her a hiding.

How to make the cross

You’ll want to know too how to make one of her crosses.. well the Office of Public Works helps out here.

Well get two sticks, cross them over one another to provide a wooden framework for the cross.

And at its centre, weave straw into the shape of a diamond. Sometimes, additional woven diamonds are added to the four arms of the cross.

Kildare wins

Bridge or Brig: The Japanese Gardens in Brigid’s Kildare

Now obviously now you’ve got the hang of making the cross.

And are intrigued by our Brig you’ll want to visit her native county.

Well, while you may have not been there before you’re bound to have picked a horse which was reared here.

With the Leinster county famous for its studs, stables and racecourses.

And you’ll want to visit the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens.

Before a bit of retail therapy at Kildare Village and Newbridge Silverware.

A prayer to St Brigid

Whether Brig rode horses, we can’t say, only that it was probably the preserve of the better off then.

But on our trail of the saint we’ll naturally take in St Brigid’s Cathedral.

Restored in the 19th century, it contains older vaults with early Christian and Norman carvings.

Its 12th century round tower is also said to be the second tallest in Ireland with spectacular views.

So now you know, if you’ve wondered about the cross on your Irish pal’s wall.

It’s St Brigid, woven into the Irish story and calendar.

Caribbean, Countries, Food & Wine, Ireland, UK

The ultimate New Year hangover cure

1st January 20241st January 2024 funtime65

It makes sense when you discover its magical contents, and for the day that’s in it we’re recommending the ultimate New Year hangover.

Coconut water, and who knew that the ubiquitous Caribbean drink (other countries are available) will put you back on your feet.

It’s all to do with the potassium, electrolytes, fibre and natural sugars.

All in those coconut shells you see traders carving out by the side of the roads that cost pennies.

Of course it might be that all that dancing you did the night before.

And the fruit from your rum punch and water to rehydrate protected you from the ravages of the hangover.

Or the fact that you’re in Barbados for carnival that makes you blank out the lethargy in your head.

Fry and high

Of course, there are those, ourselves among them, who swear by…

The Ulster/Scottish/English fry of bacon, sausage, eggs, puddings, mushrooms, beans… it’s replacing the lost salt, you know.

And I will forever be indebted to Donna for putting Jevan and myself back together after our all-nighter at Foreday Morning.

And giving us the cold splash of reality that is a hosing down.

To remove the mud and purple paint and wake us up… never a thing for those trudging back from Edinburgh this morning.

Bru knew?

The Scottish hangover cure they say is to just carry on (behave!)

But what is true is that the Jocks do swear by the elements in the bubble-gum tasting Irn-Bru soft drink.

Yes, it’s a rush of sugar but also that iron, although there’s only 0.002 ammonium ferric citrate.

But according to an expert in this field, Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, who spent 10 years drinking in 30 cities across 14 countries it deffo works.

Now if coconut water, big fry-ups or Irn-Bru aren’t your thing (and why not?) then caffeine is a favourite fall-back.

Cup of coffee for the road

One more cup of coffee: With my Dear Old Mum

I developed my taste for coffee from 15/16 and having it thrust into my hand the morning after a school house party.

How you take it is your own beeswax but I’ve been a black only drinker since my days at uni in frozen Aberdeen.

When leaving the flat to go down into the bracing wind to the shop for milk became too much effort.

Particularly after the first al-nighters with Jevan when he introduced me to real Bajan rum, Mount Gay.

Now where is that streetside coconut water seller in Aberdeen when you need one?

Now I am nothing if not a service-provider and of course the ultimate New Year hangover cure is the sunshine you get.

On the road with the Further Adventures of Bandanaman.

Countries, Ireland

Aery Christmas everyone

21st December 2023 funtime65

Aery Christmas everyone and Ireland’s national airline provider is feeling festively generous.

Because Aer Lingus have checked our list and know that what we really want from Santa is cheaper flights.

And so they’re offering…

4 million seats on sale from tomorrow, December 21^st to 15^th January.

Up to 25% off flights to European and UK destinations.

North American flights starting at €179 each way as part of a return trip.

New routes

And something new to look forward to for the New Year with new routes to Sicily, Crete and Turkey from tomorrow.

So you can add Heraklion in Crete, Catania in Sicily, and Dalaman in Turkey to your list of destinations to visit.

Adding to those Aer Lingus has introduced us to in 2023, Kos in Greece, Olbia in Sardina, and Brindisi in Italy.

Dalaman takes off on 6th April, Catania in Sicily makes its debut from 1st May, and Crete commences on 2^nd May.

Staying on trend

Now who better to share what we all like than the dream providers who take us around the world?

And Aer Lingus reveal that the top 3 European destinations booked last January were Malaga, Faro, and Paris in Europe.

While New York, Boston, and Chicago were the go-to American destinations throughout the entire year.

And where are the crowds at the airports most likely to be flying out to in the summer. for their sun.

Ole, it’s still Spain and Portugal, and who can blame them?

With Malaga, Faro and the Canaries all benefiting from the Irish and Hibernophiles adding a splash of green to their season.

Countries, Ireland

Hell and back for a good Christmas gift

11th December 202311th December 2023 funtime65

It sounds like where you have to go to at this time of the year for the woman in your life… Hell and back for a good Christmas gift.

Of course I have got back over the years since the first Noel when I followed up on the hint she’s been dropping all year.

And bought her a non-stick frying pan, and not just that but also a tray of puddings and a half a dozen eggs.

The following year she got a spa.

A dirty job

Suited and booted: Ireland’s Fittest Family

Buying presents for your loved one at Christmas can be a dirty job but someone has got to do it.

Thankfully we’ve been offered some help from our pals in our old stomping ground, the Garden County of Ireland, County Wicklow.

Now Kilruddery in Bray, setting for many a film and TV series such as The Tudors.

And down the road from our Greystones patch it is a verdant idyll we know and love well.

It’s as familiar with the Irish for the mud it churns up for the popular RTE TV challenge Ireland’s Fittest Family.

If it and other battle with the elements endurance challenges are up your street.

Then you can book Hell & Back events throughout the year.

No loafing about

Hell & Back Winter (Ages 16+) – 8km/16km – Saturday 24^th February 24:

Set against the backdrop of the Little Sugar Loaf Mountain, organisers Alive Outside have a course set to test all your skills and stamina.

There’s the dreaded signature Hell & Back obstacles such as Hell on Earth, Tyre Zone, Heartbreak Ridge and Satan’s Pit. A

And the best bit? You can choose to join them on this muddy escapade or just watch and laugh from the sidelines!

Family misfortunes

Hell & Back Family – 8km– Saturday 8^th June 24:

Now anyone with kids will know that their sprogs like nothing better than seeing their parents in trouble.

And this family favourite will test your mettle as your family transforms into a team of daring hellraisers where you’ll deal with everything from mud pits to high walls.

Expect lots of laughter, hilarious wipeouts and moments of glory that will be talked about around the Christmas dinner table for years to come.

And more from the organisers

Gift vouchers available for Alive Outside Activity Centre, the home of Hell & Back.

Ireland’s Only Outdoor Escape Room, Laser Tag, Easter & Summer Kids Camps and many more activities available to book!

So, don’t be an oul’ stick in the mud…

Remember, you don’t have to go to Hell and back for a good Christmas gift.

Kilruddery is the golden ticket for a Crimbo gift.

Countries, Ireland

Let us swim, let us swim, let us swim

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Now the weather outside is frightful but the sea is so delightful but if Ireland is your home, let us swim, let us swim, let us swim.

Brace yourself because the Irishman and woman (and dog, to be fair) loves hitting the water in the winter.

In my own wee town in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, the early morning swimmers were lauded.

Whadya see? Santa, aka John Murphy, and June Curtin of Snámhaí Sásta and her swimmers at Ladies Cove, Co. Wicklow Pic: Marc O’Sullivan

And fed and watered at the institution that is the Happy Pear with hearty soup and coffee.

For as long as I’ve going to Ireland (all my 58 years) people have been bobbing their heads up above the swell.

And we’ve been encouraged too to dive off the pier in Portnoo, Co. Donegal, my Dear Old Mum’s homestead.

Or off Salthill in Co. Galway. on family holidays with my cousins, the Kennedys.

For the rest of the recommendations I’ll hand you over now.

To our our friends at Failte Ireland.

Who I know have roadtested each and every one of them and know some homely pubs and cafes for your post-swim reward.

Donegal diving

Bundoran, Co. Donegal: From Rossnowlagh Beach to Tullan Strand, Bundoran is a cold-water swim and surfing haven with Bundoran Surf Co teaching you all the moves.

Enjoy a delicious coffee afterwards in Foam. You can also visit the amusements on the shores of Bundoran for a nostalgic kick!

Wexford waves

Baginbun Beach, Co. Wexford: Baginbun, outside Fethard, is a beautiful, sheltered cove with a sandy beach, perfect for enthusiastic swimmers at this time of year.

Reward yourself with a trip to the Sweathouse Sauna, which is located right on Baginbun Beach or a coffee from The Lodge Café.

From Clare to beer

Mountshannon, Co. Clare: Now Clare natives swear by the reviving qualities of the Lough Derg waters.

Head for Mountshannon Beach before indulging in a sweet treat at the Boat House Café or take a trip into the village and enjoy the cosy surrounds of The Snug.

Ya Corker

Lough Hyne, West Cork: Ireland’s first marine nature reserve and unique sea-water lake which enthusiasts say it’s a touch warmer than the open Atlantic Ocean.

And you might even catch a glimpse of the bioluminescence (you don’t have to go to Tobago then, but I would too) which appears on the lake. Stop off at O’Neill’s Coffee House.

Salt of the earth

Pop into PJ Flaherty’s for a woodfired pizza, or to Coco Café Salthill for cuppa that’s sure to soothe the soul after a chilly swim.

Ladies (and gentlemen)

Ladies Cove, Co. Wicklow: Beautifully emulated, of course, in Ruth Fitzmaurice’s book, I Found My Tribe.

Following your dip, you can pay a visit to Fad Saoil Saunas, which boasts authentic wood-burning Finnish Sauna facilities.

And Greystones’ favourite Flynn twins have a Happy Pear too in Wicklow town.

Home is the Howth

Claremont Beach, Co. Dublin:   Claremont beach is a small cove-like beach situated close to the village which is a terminus on the DART. 

Afterwards you can enjoy a range of hotspots to eat and drink such as Wrights of Howth or traditional fish and chips at Beshoff’s.

Velvet evolution

Portmarnock Beach, Co. Dublin: And here’s 8km of beach stretching all the way to Baldoyle, adjoining Malahide Beach with shallow waters promised… to jump out at your will.

Afterwards swimmers can also enjoy a warming pick me up at Honey Honey Café or from Fireman Sands Coffee Truck.

Doon by the Shore

Wild Swimming in Doon Shore at Lough Key, Co. Leitrim: And if you were enchanted by Chris O’Dowd’s coming-of-age sitcom Moone Boy.

You’ll want to know more about Leitrim in the north-west of Ireland.

And an added extra here is the Wim Hof Method workshop with Lough Allen Adventure at Drumshambo where you can learn essential skills for baring the chilly waters when swimming this winter.

Cooley waters

Cooley Peninsula, Co. Louth: Anyone for a glacial fjord at Carlingford Lough and Gyles Quay on the Cooley Peninsula.

Water lovers can avail too of kayaking at the Carlingford Adventure centre, go on a crawl.

Visit the Carlingford Castle and channel your inner giant Fionn MacCumhaill.

So, let us swim, let us swim, let us swim and, of course follow Failte Ireland’s advice and put Safety First first with https://watersafety.ie/open-water-swimming/

America, Countries, Ireland, Music, UK

Farewell Shane MacGowan, the last of the Irish Rovers

30th November 202330th November 2023 funtime65

Farewell Shane MacGowan, the last of the Irish Rovers… it was an honour to pick up your empties.

Shane probably wouldn’t remember it, he wouldn’t remember much after a slake of beer or whiskey.

But I was the glass collector the night he played the Ritzy nightclub in Aberdeen.

When he was at his most energetic and would rattle into Sally MacLennane, The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn or the Old Main Drag.

Swigging a bottle of lager before launching into his song and banging it down at the end before gargling a word of acknowledgement to me as I kept them lined up.

The Pogues’ oul rogue

Shane MacGowan was for so many of us Fiftysomething the soundtrack of our youth, the go-to artist and band to pogo to on the Union dancefloor.

And, of course, like all of the most treasured of artists, he is transgenerational.

He will be remembered most for his anthemic Christmas song Fairytale of New York with Kirsty MacColl which broke the mould of cheesy tinsel songs.

And many will see it as poignant that he should pass over to the other side as Christmas festivities get into full swing.

But it was as the lead singer of the band which fused the most unlikely bedfellows of Irish trad music and punk for which he will go down in music history as a pioneer.

Son of the oul’ sod

Of course, Shane was like me and millions, and this is where the link ends part of the great Diaspora, a son of a son (or daughter) of the sod.

Of those who had, like my Dear Old Mum and my Dad, whose own mum and his ancestors had taken the boat across to Britain.

Few because of the poor state of the economy back in the homeland could make a permanent move back to Ireland.

But they held the Irish culture, the politics, their nationalism, the song, the dance and the craic close to their hearts.

And pass it on to the new land they found themselves in which is why The Pogues became celebrated in London and across Britain.

From New York to the world

Of course, it is poignant that Fairytale of New York should be the ultimate Pogues standard as the bond formed between Ireland and America grows stronger year by year.

And underlined by American President Joe Biden who made an emotional return to the land of his fathers last year.

The unruffled ruffian with the broken glass teeth and the gravelly voice has gone and a million jukeboxes will blast out his hits across Irish bars around the world.

Farewell Shane MacGowan, the last of the Irish Rovers.

As he joins Jimmy from Sally Maclennane ‘who took the road for heaven in the morning.’