A Song For While I’m Away : My First Trip to Ireland

Hello,
I am sitting on the plane on my way back home and decided to finally write something new. I know it’s a recurring theme here. Enough though, I should have written a little each day of the trip. Especially since this is a destination, I have longed to go to for as long as I can remember, Ireland. Of course, this has everything to do with it being part of my family’s heritage. But you probably already knew that if you have been reading my posts and or following the band.

With everything going in the world and the everyday concerns about money, the future of the economy and what not, most people always feel they cannot afford to take such a trip. I said to myself, I can’t afford not to. Yes, it is a huge expense and undertaking travelling for so many hours and be away from home. But you cannot put a price on an experience like this. Nothing can replace giving my mother the Birthday experience she wanted most (which was the inspiration of this entire trip in the first place) especially since it was for her 75th Birthday celebration.

It was a nice surprise seeing my last name on a map in one of the Museums (most of which have free entry btw) as well as seeing paintings and statutes of King Brian Boru(shown above). Not to mention the artwork from the Book of Kells and the book itself in Trinity College just name a few sights.

As expected, it went by rather quickly and it was not as I expected. You know, kind of like how you have a mental image when you’re reading a book of what is going on as you read the pages. What didn’t go by quickly was adjusting to the time and all. We got off the plane, dodging the girl who had the window seat and stayed in it for the entire flight (So it’s obvious where she was running to). Walking through the airport seeing signs in both English and Gaelic. A language I studied in college that I couldn’t even transfer the credits to another school because it was so rare. I had to wait a few hours to check in, so I ended up sleeping through the first dinner there. Then after spending much of the first day “recovering” we were off to one of the first attractions, the Leprechaun Museum. Which of course was bit more kid friendly, while dispelling the myth that Leprechauns dress in all green, wear top hats, etc. Yet another cultural change created by Disney (I’m sure most people are aware that the original stories they turned into feature films were much different even many were originally gruesome to say the least. But there’s plenty of resources to uncover those if you look hard enough). Afterwards I found myself having lunch inside the very first bar I had ever been in in Ireland. And did not have a drop of alcohol. Surprising as that was, that was not the case for the entire stay.

The next day we headed out to a day long trip. More like half the day (as in 12 hours) with focus of the trip being the Blarney Castle, home of the famous Blarney Stone. Visitors would have to climb up several stories of stone staircases to reach it. Then to kiss the Blarney Stone, you need to lay down and lean back while being secured so you can reach around to meet it with your lips. It does on seem like much in the written word. But when you get a upside down small glimpse of the ground below from a few stories up it is as my sister said “terrifying”.

I should also mention that before making it to the Blarney Castle we stopped at the Rock of Cashel. A Medieval castle that was home to the Kings of Munster, and it is also where St. Patrick converted one of the Kings to Christianity. We also had lunch at Gallagher’s named after Taste guitar player Rory Gallagher. An artist I admit I am not familiar with, but if Jimi Hendrix claims that he was the greatest guitar player in history than I probably should be. One artist that I am at least somewhat familiar with is Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy. On my very last night there, I went over to the spot in Dublin where the statute in his honor stands. It was one of the main things on my agenda, so I figured I would mention it out of sequence like this. Especially since most of the time we were on the go, or relaxing, going on sightseeing ventures. There was not much time for leisure like this. But we did learn a lot. Each tour we went on had a different theme. From the Traditional tour, the Viking Boat Tour (which featured bus that could was able to float in one of the canals that took us right passed the studio owned by U2 and the spot where they took the photos for their album October), and the Haunted tour. Which I believe was the last one we went on and probably one of the best guided for many reasons. One of them being that our tour was gave me the idea the write a piece about our trip. But she also had this knack for keeping people interested and attentive. Kinda hard to explain, but we just felt really enthralled in everything she was telling. Despite how gruesome the details were. And mentioning Bram Stoker were the least of them. There were 2 tours that brought us by His old office in Dublin Castle. But each tour gave us a different viewpoint of what Dublin was about and how it came to be. Of course, much of that would include Ireland’s Viking Invasions. After all, the Vikings were the ones who named Dublin. Because it sits at the spot or “Black Pool” where the Rivers Liffey and Poddle meet.

All and all it was a great time. I did scout out a few musical spots and place, but I will reveal more on that later. But I will say it was great seeing how much live music can be found around Dublin. The metal band Venom was even in town performing while I was there. But I mostly stuck to watching the duos playing in the pubs. And I found a cool clothing spot that reminded me of New York City’s “Trash N’ Vaudeville” called “Fresh Temple Bar” (I believe the area is called Temple Bar, hence most spots in that area have Temple Bar attached to their name.)

I am doing my best to conclude this without leaving out anything. And I was trying to think of a song to use as the title. I decided to go with a song that I have never even heard before. And a song that stuck because of the theme and because I heard performed in the pubs a more than once. Probably because of the theme. I found this song after looking specifically a Thin Lizzy song about “home”. I found the complete opposite “A Song for while I’m away”. Which was more fitting. Despite Ireland being the place where my family is originally from, I was still away from home. A song Phil Lynott wrote for a Women he left behind while touring. Still, this was all about discovering new things and experiences, so I figured why not find a song title in a different way? Ironically this exploration (or deep dive) into the music of Thin Lizzy has made me realize what my recent writing has lacked. My usual theme of Irish and Celtic myths. So I will include some of that in some songs that I will be writing soon. Thanks again for reading,Until next time stay safe and be well

Nate, xoxo