My Love Affair with Ireland

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

From a young age, I have always been in love with Ireland.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

 

 

One of my first memories is my mother reading a Little Golden Book called Darby O’Gill and the Little People to me when I was very small and seeing the Walt Disney film of it.

 

 

 

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Later, I saw another Disney film, The Fighting Prince of Donegal, which appealed to my love of history and I think that cemented my love of all things Irish.

 

I have proudly worn green every St. Patrick’s Day I can remember, even though I sadly have not been able to discover any Irish ancestry.

 

 

 

My very first trip to Ireland I spent 10 days traveling around the country on trains and buses. That’s when I went to Castle Blarney and kissed the Blarney stone.

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Being a huge James Joyce fan (I did my undergraduate thesis on Molly Bloom from his stunning work Ulysses), on Bloomsday, June 16th, at the age of 22, I  stood atop the Martello Tower in Sandycove, Dublin, just like Stephen Dedalus in Ulysses. Many years later, my second daughter was born on Bloomsday.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

And the reason I decided to do the dissertation for my Ph.D. on Women of the the Abbey Theatre, is that I knew I’d have to spend time in Ireland doing research for it. I spent two glorious summers in Dublin researching and soaking up the Irish countryside.

 

 

If I can make it happen, I’d like to ultimately retire to Ireland to write at least part of every year.

So I wish you Happy St. Patrick’s Day and leave you with this Irish Blessing: