A haunting Trip to Cobh

My friend Liza was coming over from South Africa to visit us, and Derrick's old School friend was going to be in Cork, so we decided to go down to Cobh in Co. Cork for a week-end and show Liza a bit of Ireland and on the way pop in to see Charles and his daughter Emily.

We left in really crappy rainy weather and drove down, thank goodness for Google maps we found the farm no problem.  They had put on a really nice lunch for us, so we spent a few hours and then continued down to Cobh.

We arrived in Cobh on the evening of the 2nd of January, we were pretty tired so just went to our rooms and then down for dinner.  My Emily and Liza shared a room which was a few doors away from where our room was, we had a sea view. 

The hotel we stayed in was the Commodore Hotel, I found it on booking.com and it was on the main road not far from the Titanic experience which I wanted to take Liza to see.   I did not do too much research on the hotel, for a small town it looked nice, I read a few reviews - someone said it was noisy, but I thought well for 2 nights it will be fine, the price was very reasonable too.

The Commodore Hotel was completed in 1854 and opened as the Queens Hotel. The name commemorated the fact that Queen Victoria, on her first ever visit to Ireland, had stepped ashore just a few yards from the site of the new hotel. 

The first evening we were there we were in the room just chilling before dinner and at one stage it got icy cold, it was winter, however it was unusual for the room to be so cold.  I remember putting the heater on and covering myself with the blanket.

I don't remember too much about that evening but I do remember waking up in the early hours of the morning because I heard people talking, I thought there must be people in the room next to us.

The next day, we woke had breakfast and then did some sightseeing around cove, we had been there before but like I mentioned wanted to do the Titanic Experience, after we went for lunch and met a work colleague of mine.    By this time it was late afternoon, we then went back to the hotel for a coffee and chat.  My friend left and we went up to the room, we decided not to do Dinner at the hotel again but to go round to the pub, which we did.

After a few drinks we went back to the hotel.  Again that night I remember waking up in the middle of the night or early morning with noises, but I promptly went back to sleep.  We waited for Liza at breakfast and she came down like a bear with a sore head, she said she hardly slept because there was someone above her room marching up and down with heavy boots the whole night.  She told me to remember to put in a complaint when we were checking out.

So once we had collected our stuff, I went to reception to check out and mentioned to the lady that Liza could not sleep as there was someone walking up and down with heavy boots the whole night in the room above.   So she said:  "There is no room above" ......... then she said to me you see that man sitting at the table there, he is a tour guide, tell him what happened.

So according to this Gentleman, an Army sergeant going off to join the Crimean war was staying in the hotel whilst the ship was en route to collect him and other soldiers.  The Soldier committed suicide in the hotel and it is said that you can often hear him marching up and down, well both Liza and myself got the shivers.   He also told us other stories of people hearing a baby crying in the middle of the night, and this was the ghost of a baby whose mother was waiting for a ship to go to New York, she was a single mother and she left the baby in a suitcase in the room.  I guess she hoped that someone would find the baby and hand it in, but alas the baby died in the suitcase.

The hotel also had guests who were joining the Titanic on her Maiden voyage to New York and hence the "Titanic Experience" in Cove.  When I got home I did some research and it was true we would not be the only one's to hear noises in the hotel.  I wish I had known before we stayed there, however I somehow think had we read all these reviews we would never have heard the noises.

It also appeared that after the sinking of the Lusitania, the hotel was turned into a hospital and Morgue, so the sounds we heard that night could also have been the moving of beds around.

At least Liza had an experience that she could tell everyone when she got back home.

I found this write up on the hotel as well: https://www.travelmyth.ie/Cobh/Hotels/haunted-historic

"Speak like a Pirate Day"

Yes today the 19th of September is "Speak like a Pirate Day" Aye!!!!

What an interestin' time it must have been when t' pirate's were around! "

Clew Bay in Ireland was a safe haven for many a pirate, did you know that?

Clew Bay
The west coast of Ireland might not seem like prime pirate territory, but in the 16th century the rugged shores of Clew Bay served as the stronghold for of one of history’s most formidable lady corsairs. During a time when Ireland was ruled by dozens of local chieftains, Grace O’Malley defied convention and emerged as the leader of a seafaring clan who controlled the coastlines through intimidation and plunder. From her base of operations at Rockfleet Castle, O’Malley—also known as Granuaile—commanded hundreds of men and some 20 ships in raids on rival clans and merchant ships. She also ran afoul of government officials, who made repeated attempts to curb her activity. When a fleet from Galway besieged her castle in 1574, O’Malley led her pirates in a counterattack and forced the ships into a retreat.

O’Malley was captured in 1577 and spent several months behind bars, but by the 1580s she was once again stalking the seas surrounding Clew Bay. Her hands-on style of leadership earned her a reputation as a ruthless fighter—a popular legend states that she once gunned down a Turkish buccaneer only a day after giving birth—but she also showed a keen understanding of politics. When English colonial authorities eventually captured her son and impounded her ships, O’Malley petitioned the Crown for redress and then set sail for England. During a historic 1593 meeting with Queen Elizabeth I, she personally negotiated her son’s release and even secured the return of her fleet.

So practice speaking like a pirate

Pirate Phrases

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! - exhortation of discontent or disgust
Ahoy! - Hello!
Ahoy, Matey - Hello, my friend!
Ahoy, me Hearties! - the same as saying "Hello, my friends!"
All hand hoay! - comparable to all hands on deck
Avast ye - stop and check this out or pay attention             
Aye - yes
Batten down the hatches - put everything away on the ship and tie everything down because a storm is brewing
Bilge-sucking - insult
Blimey! - exhortation of surprise
Blow me down! - expression of shock of disbelief akin to "Holy Crap!"
Blow the man down - command to kill someone
Booty - treasure
Buccaneer - a pirate
Bucko - a buccaneer
Cat O'Nine Tails - a whip with nine strands
Cleave him to the brisket - to cut across the chest, from one shoulder to the lower abdomen
Corsair - pirates in the Mediterranean Sea
Crow's nest - small platform atop the mast where the lookout stands
Cutlass - short heavy curved bladed sword used by pirates
Davy Jones' Locker - fabled, mythical place at the bottom of the ocean where the evil spirit of Davy Jones brings sailor and pirates to die
Dead men tell no tales - phrase indicating to leave no survivors
Doubloons - other coins or found in pirate hoards and stashes
Feed the fish - will soon die
Hang 'im from the yardarm - punishment of those captured in battle
Head - the pirate ship's toilet
Heave Ho - give it some muscle and push it
Hempen Halter - a noose for hanging
Hornswaggle - to defraud or cheat out of money or belongings
Jacob's Ladder - the rope ladder one uses to climb aboard a sloop
Jolly Roger - pirate's flag including white skull and crossbones over a black field
Keelhaul - punishment in which a person where dragged underneath the pirate ship from side to side and was lacerated by the barnacles on the vessel
Lad, lass, lassie - a younger person
Landlubber - big, slow clumsy person who doesn't know how to sail
Letters of Marque - letters issue from governments during wartime to privateers endorsing the piracy of another vessel
Man-O-War - pirate's ship outfitted for battle
Me - my
Mizzen - third mast from the bow of the ship on ships that have three or more masts
Old Salt - an experienced sailor
Pieces of eight - coins or found in pirate stashes
Pillage - rob, sack or plunder
Poop deck - the part of the ship farthest to the back, which is usually above the captain's quarters. This is not the bathroom.
Privateer - government-sponsored pirates
Rum - pirate's traditional alcoholic beverage
Run a shot across the bow - warning shot to another vessel's captain
Savvy? - do you understand and do you agree?
Scallywag - mild insult akin to rapscallion or rogue
Scurvy dog - the pirate is talking directly to you with mild insult
Scuttle - to sink a ship
Seadog - old pirate or sailor
Shark bait - will soon join Davy Jones' Locker
Shipshape - cleaned up and under control
Shiver me timbers! - comparable to "Holy Crap!"
Son of a Biscuit Eater - insult directed towards someone you don't like
Splice the mainbrace! - give the crew a drink!
Thar she blows! - Whale sighting
Three sheets to the wind - someone who is very drunk. One sheet is mildly drunk and four sheets is passed out.
Walk the plank - punishment in which person walks off a board jutting over the side of the ship while at sea. The consequence is drowning and a visit to Davy Jones' Locker.
Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! - pull up the anchor and the sail and let's get going
Ye - you
Yo Ho Ho - cheerful exhortation to demand attention

Sunset over the Atlantic in Ireland - July 2013

Britta's Bay - Summer in Ireland 2013

I just wanted to add some photos I took at Brittas Bay on Sunday, we had a week-end of Beach and it was awesome!  I never knew the sky could be so Blue ... Audrey phoned on Saturday evening and made the suggestion, at one stage while waiting in the 2 km tail back we almost gave up going, but luckily we pursued - Audrey brought a BBQ and we had burgers and sausages and I had the bottle of Frozen Margarita that really went down a treat.

I have never in all my life seen so many people on a beach, but we have all been starved of a summer for so many years that we all made the most of it, while it lasts - Long live summer ....

You know you're Irish when .... Republic of Telly

So True ... 

Property Tax in Ireland ...

I don't know how to begin this post because I am confused, baffled, startled at the stupidity of the government - I am sure this could have been thought out and implemented better in any country in Africa.

So let me start at the beginning - After the previous government squandered all the money the country had, and the banks had to be bailed out by the tax payer along with a host of other organizations, and this was done by putting up our taxes first personal tax, then sales tax then the introduction of a "Universal Social Charge", then more tax hikes, reducing any kind of benefit they could, they introduced a household charge in 2012.

Not knowing how to implement this, they let the public do it for them, in addition they also want to start charging us for water which is a would you call it a natural resource that there is no shortage of in Ireland, but they have no way of knowing how much water people use as we don't have water meters.  So they sent every household a letter for the household charge which I think was €100, and you had to go on-line and pay this, but you also had to answer a whole lot of questions pertaining to your water, drainage etc, so in actual fact what ever person in Ireland was doing was building a database for the government so that they would try and come up with a way in which to implement it, which they still haven't.

So instead they decide to implement property tax, based on the value of your property - but you guessed it how do they know what your property is worth.  So once again they consult with the Leprechauns and come up with this idea, YOU the owner of your property have to decide what your property is worth!!!  So if you go onto their website and click on the LPT (Local Property Tax - Valuation Guidance)

 - You put in your location from the drop down list and property type and state whether it was built before Y2K or after and click on view map.   A pop up "Self Assessment Disclaimer" box pops up, which you have to accept or cancel, if you cancel you can't go any further.

So then this awful map with various shades of Orange pops up, Orange???? I ask you could they not have used different colors for each area.

So then you zoom into your area and you can actually virtually click on your house when you have zoomed in  close enough, it will then come up with an estimate and what I can only think is they give you the Minimum amount that your house could be valued at and you decide what it is actually worth, however they have our Estate in the wrong Area - did no-one check this, do they not have QA people looking at their software before they release it??? I guess being in QA I constantly look for mistakes these days!!!

I just want to know how this is going to work, What is my neighbor values his house at 100k more than mine, yet mine is in better condition ... they honestly never thought this through, what a bunch of monkeys ... I ask you!

Once you have the estimate you can then go to the Calculator and calculate your property tax for 2013, to see how much more the Tax man is going to try and take from you!

And don't worry he will be sending you a self assessment form in the post in the next couple of days so you can fill it in (once again doing their job for them) and they will then ask for payment.  And what if you can't afford to pay it ???  Where are they going to go next to get money once they have squandered this lot and lined their already fat pockets???

The New Property Tax for 2013

Your House 

As seen by yourself:

As seen by your buyer:

As seen by your lender:

As seen by the bank's 

valuer

As seen by Irish Revenue Commissioners:

Time lapse Dublin 2013

Installing Winter in Ireland

Just like summer never arrived, Winter is proving to be exactly the same, it's been between 12 and 17 degrees most of last week.

INSTALLING WINTER IN IRELAND.....

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44% DONE.                              

 Install delayed....please wait.                                      

 Installation failed. Please try again.                               

404 error: Season not found. Season "Winter" cannot be located.    

The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is 

temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.      

10 Years Later...

I suddenly realised on Wednesday the 21st of June (Longest Day of the year) that I had been in Ireland for 10 years.  I remember the day so clearly, I was laden down with so much luggage on a Swiss air flight from Johannesburg via. Zurich to Dublin.  I arranged with Eva a girl I met in Australia in 1998 to meet her at the airport in Zurich as I had a 2 to 3 hour stop over.

She met me laden with all nice Swiss goodies it was so lovely to see her.  Then onward to Dublin, and D was waiting for me at the airport, he had hired a Ford Ka, which must have been the smallest car I had ever seen because he had already collected the unaccompanied luggage and had to rush home to take it as there was no room for anything else.

Anyway it was so nice seeing him after almost a month, D had left on the 18th of May as he was starting work on the 21st of May.  Well I was quite surprised by the apartment he had rented, I expected it to be really old and dark and dingy, but in fact it was Bright and lovely.  And yes he never lets me forget how long it took him to clean it and how filthy it was.  It's amazing the things we experienced in the last 10 years.

For the first year we never had a car and would go shopping walking to Rathmines from Milltown with a backpack, actually walking everywhere.
My mom came over for a few weeks and sadly she passed away that same year, we have had loads of visitors.
We've met some wonderful friends and some not so wonderful.  We have met other South Africans, some who have arrived and left either to go home or proceeded on somewhere else.
I have revived old friendships with friends I lost touch with 12 years ago and are living just across the sea - Thanks Google.  Actually thanks to Facebook, SA reunited and Google I have got in touch with people I haven't seen or heard from in almost 30 years, some who I hope I will stay in contact with for the rest of my life.
We have seen some awesome concerts, and we have traveled to places we never have even thought of going to had we still been living in SA.
We had the most wonderful addition to the family "Emily" who also may not have come along had we still been in SA.
I have learnt a lot about the Irish nation, mostly how they are ruthless in business and will smile and shake your hand while stabbing you in the back, even on your mother's funeral.
However I have also learnt that Irish people are just as friendly as South Africans and once you make a true friend they will bend over backwards for you.

Most of all in the 10 years gone by, I can finally say that I think I am now content with our choice, we made some good decisions and we have made some bad decisions, but the decisions we have made have been made and there is not too much we can do about them.

But I often wonder where will I be in 10 years time, I know where I would like to be but I guess sometimes we just can't have everything we want!

By the way the photo at the top is of my friend Bob who I started working with in 2001 so his probably one of my oldest Irish friends!

Walk the Walk is a video showcasing the fantastic Bray to Greystones Cli...

Weird World

Okay, tell me is it only in Ireland or is the world just weird, I was listening to the news this morning and the ruling party in the FF government of Ireland are having a "secret" ballot tonight in a motion of confidence for the current Taoiseach (that's Irish for Prime Minister).  However, the Minister of Finance has publicly declared that he will support the Taoiseach along with other members of the cabinet ... HELLO!  That doesn't sound like a secret to me, so why the hell are you having a SECRET ballot then, or do you just LIE to the public about your support and then stab him in the back in the secret ballot???  Something doesn't make sense, but I am sure some Irish person will be kind enough to explain it to me.


Then there is something else that just p*sses me off totally, the fact that criminals get "FREE LEGAL AID" according to the media, I wish they would stop using the term free legal aid and change it to "Legail aid paid for with tax payers money" because that is exactly what it is, just like anything FREE in this country someone pays for it and it is normally the tax payer, not so ..... so please stop using the word FREE so FREELY!

Okay I was going to complain about old news, Radio Nova reported on a couple who updated their Relationship status on Facebook right after they took their vows,  today but this story is months old, so get with the program and tell us the New NEWS, not old NEWS.

It's not that I am grumpy but just a few things that I don't fully understand.

The Big Snow

I decided to search the internet to see when Dublin & Ireland had so much snow before and I came across this article which was really interesting:



AN ACCOUNT OF THE BIG SNOW”
(24TH FEBRUARY 1933)


Monday Night 8.30pm

My Dear M & B,

I hope you are both well and that you did not experience the awful blizzard, which visited us on Friday last. We have just been through the biggest snowstorm in living memory. I believe the last similar one occurred in 1867. I had often pictured in my mind what it would be like to have the roads blocked with snow six to eight feet deep, but now we have the reality.

I believe this storm will rank in the minds of the peasantry with the big wind of 1839 and the lesser one of 1903. It will be a long time until all the episodes of the storm will be narrated and then of course they will all have to be told over and over again.

I should mention of course that we do not know yet how Sissie has faired, but of course we hope for the best.

Now to begin, we were invited down to Brady’s (the shop) for a card game on Thursday evening, but as it commenced to snow about six o’clock Ma and Gretta would not set out. I was glad after that they didn’t as it was snowing heavily at ten o’clock and eleven and we would have got it very hard to get home.
On Friday morning we awoke to find the ground covered with snow, only about an inch, however, and it was not snowing then. When we were eating our breakfast at nine o’clock it commenced to snow again, rather fine snow with a driving north wind.

I started out to school and was overtaken by Mrs. Kelly at Peter Garvey’s Cottage, she was a sight. Her coat and hat being covered with frozen snow. As we proceeded down the exposed portion of the road, we felt the full force of the icy blast and I was forced to cover my ear with my hand as I could not stand the cold.
Fourteen children answered the roll call and I made up my mind that I would dismiss them at 12 o’clock, I expected the priest down then to hear confessions. We could see through the school windows that it was snowing heavily all the time and that the wind had increased but we had no idea it was so awful outside.
At 12 o’clock the children got their cocoa and I went round to the little house to tell Mrs. Kelly and Miss Plunkett that I would let them home. At this time it was impossible to see more that two yards ahead of you on the road and as I was going into the school again I thought I saw a load of fodder or something at the churchyard gate. On closer investigation it proved to be a mound of snow about seven feet high.
I then marshalled the kids and told them how to proceed on the homeward journey. I gave them strict instructions to keep together and to go into the nearest house when they could proceed no further.
Peter Gaynor called in then and said that he got it very hard to get down. He took his own children in tow and also all who were going his way. Sissie Reilly went with him too and as she was to go up to Keogh’s for the milk, I told her to wait for me at Keogh’s gate. 

I then locked up, muffled up and proceeded homewards with two wee cans of water from the pump. The snow was heaping up on the left hand side of the road and even on the right side it was 10 feet deep in places. I was almost winded when I got to Keogh’s gate and was glad of the shelter. I saw that there was a small tree right across the road a few perches ahead.

Since Sissie Reilly was not appearing I had to go up to Keogh’s for her. The yard was filled with Sheep and Cattle all covered with snow, the weirdest thing you ever saw. Sissie Reilly and I then started for home. When we got on to the road we honestly could not see one yard ahead of us with the driving snow, while the icy wind almost took our breath away. I got the wind up in more senses than one and Sissie Reilly became hysterical. I judged it better to stand awhile to draw our breath. Thus fortified we started off again, often floundering through snowdrifts two and three feet deep. 

At last Peter Gaynor’s cottage loomed ahead and I went into see did they all get home safely and what became of the two Mulvany’s from Seymourstown who had also been at school. I found that Peter had them inside and I took them up to our house. I met Paddy Nulty starting out to meet Sissie and when he left Sissie in, he came up after me to tell me how he was going down to tell me not to let out the children until someone called for them.

I then got the wind up about three children who had to go on beyond the little new cottage on the Virginia Rd. Station road. I know that if they were overcome I would be partly to blame. Paddy Nulty volunteered to inquire after them as he had to go down to tell the postman that he could not drive him into Kells.
I could hardly eat my dinner with the excitement of my journey home and my anguish about the children. However, Paddy Nulty reappeared in about an hour and a half with the following story.

He found that the two girls remained in Finnens but that the little fellow had started out on his own! Paddy then started out with the two girls (I should mention that Frances Nulty was with them too). They inquired at Daly’s and found that young Walshe had passed there anyway. They then entered the next collage and found him sitting at the fire. It appears he went on a little farther but getting a bit bogged had the good sense to come back.

The Nulty’s, having collected him, started out again, but on being confronted with a wall of snow ten feet high, they returned and defrosted the children in the last mentioned cottage. They were not removed from there until 9.30 that night although within a quarter of a mile of their own home. This story eased my mind regarding the children and I started to enjoy the comforts of a good fire. I should mention that I gave Paddy Nulty a glass of whisky for his trouble. I had a mouthful when I came home myself as I was shivering like an aspen, not so much with the cold as with fright.

Gretta in the meantime was looking after the needs of our two protégés. Their father arrived about half four, dead beat. It took him three hours to do the journey and he was nearly lost in a snowdrift at Johnny Smiths gate. It appears he began to shout for help on approaching our house but of course was not heard above the howling of the storm. We could not of course allow him face home again and so we had three for the night. 

The back door could not be opened with all the snow that was against it (it opens out you know) and so I went out with a shovel to relieve matters. I found no table, no paraffin tanks, but a big heap of snow up to the latch of the door. I had a nice job to shovel it away while the storm still raged. The open shed was filled almost to the roof with snow while there was about a foot of snow on top of the car in the shed. The house had a peculiar appearance on the outside, every window was completely blocked up with snow and there was a fringe of snow about six inches wide all round the frames of the front door. Mrs. Kelly and Miss Plunkett got as far as Keoghs where they remained for the night. The postman remained in his little tin hut all night. It was very weird to be sitting inside at the fire listening to the howling of the storm, while we could see nothing, as all the windows were blocked up with snow. 

The hens did not put even their beaks out all day. They had to be fed inside in their house and locked up again immediately, they only got one feed. As poor Judy and Pearl would have no place to lie outside they were kept indoors, both that night and the next and I must say they behaved very decorously indeed.
Ma and in fact we all were troubled about Sissie, afraid she would be so foolish as to try and brave the storm in her endeavours to reach Piercetown. As I said before we do not yet know how she fared. The storm eased off about nine o’clock. We heard on the wireless that it was pretty bad in Dublin too. All traffic stopped etc.The Shannon Scheme Wires were broken down, all communication with the provinces was cut off both by road, rail and wire and there were several pathetic S.O.S’s.

Well we slept but on Saturday morning what a sight met our eyes when we ventured forth. I should say here that I was up and out at 8 o’clock and after a preliminary survey I armed myself with a shovel and started to excavate passages from the various doors and sheds etc.

The road from our house to Peter Gaynor’s was pretty clear, there being only about two feet of snow on it, but from the pump right across the road to Nulty’s garden, there was a hill of snow seven feet high at least. I could not look across it. This hill continued up to John Lynch’s shed, here there was a valley and beyond that again the snow was eight feet deep almost to Brennan’s Cottage. The surface of the snow was not level, but in places took on the most fanciful shapes like curling waves or the curved backs of old fashioned furniture. 

On the Chapel side the snow become deep below Gaynor’s Cottage and from that down to Keogh’s was eight feet deep all the way. Neddy Quinn from Barney Hill was the first wayfarer to pass by. He was going to look after Cattle at Condy’s Cross. It took him three hours to reach our house and as he breasted the snowy waves armed with a short shovel, which he plunged in the snow at every step, he looked like an intrepid Polar explorer or a bold Swiss Mountaineer. Mrs. Kelly came next escorted by Johnny Keogh (Miss Plunkett faced home across the fields with another escort), then came the postman, trudging his weary way to Kells. Paddy Nulty and I then faced for Finnens for water and of course cigarettes, I resurrected by leggings for the occasion.

It was comparatively easy to walk on top of the snow and in places we walked into the fields and on to the road again just for the fun of it. From Keoghs to Finners the road was not too bad and on the left side of the road there was a pass all the way only about one foot deep. When we arrived, old Finnen was busy cutting a pass from the shop door to the pump. Here the snow was 2 feet deep.

Tuesday 3.00 pm
The children’s father faced home after breakfast on Saturday morning, but he did not bring them with him so we had them on Saturday night too. After dinner on Saturday Gretta and I faced for the well at Brennan’s. We had quite an exciting journey and while the snow was for the most part hard, we now and again sank down to our knees. Barney called down to see us. He said that the road from his house to Condy’s Cross was even worse than ours.

The question now was how long would the snow remain and how long would the food supply hold out. Well we were lucky to have a good supply of bacon, butter, tea, sugar, flour and some bread, while we could procure fresh mutton from Keoghs.

I had to dispense some bags of coal to the neighbours so as to keep the home fires burning. On Sunday morning we were up betimes, but the snow had abated very little. We were not sure whether the priest could come or not and we were in and out watching him.

We could see the people walking across the snow clad fields from Balgree and Ballyhist and then a lot of people appeared in the field beyond Nulty’s garden (it was easier to go by the fields). Then Father Drake appeared breasting Mt. Blanc at John Lynch’s shed and behind him in single file came 15 or 20 others. 
Gretta and I went down to mass which was short and sweet. We met Mickie after mass and he told us that both Matt and Alick were again confined to bed and that Alicks breathing was a bit short. Matt too is very feeble and has to be helped in and out of bed. They have a hard job nursing them both. Unfortunately I cannot go over to see them until the snows clear. We sent the two Mulvany’s home with their friends after mass on Sunday. I went down to school on Monday, but only a few scholars turned up so I packed them home again. I did the same to-day (Tuesday). It is much harder to travel to-day as the snow is soft and treacherous and I’m thinking it will be even worse to-morrow.

Some Items of the Storm:
The children set “elephant” traps in the snow and were well rewarded to see some travellers plunge into them.

Gaynor’s white goat did not become visible until Monday, she was covered up in a drift alongside our field. She is going strong.

Keogh’s had a goat, which only thawed out yesterday also they had been walking across her for two days in a big drift. She also is alive.

A few fields over beyond Nulty’s a bullock was smothered in a huge snowdrift. Several people had to dig sheep and lambs out of the snowdrifts.

I don’t know how the poor birds survived the storm but anyway they turned up quite perky on Saturday morning and gladly availed themselves of the crumbs we put in the window sills. 

We have, or rather the Nulty’s have, rediscovered a new well down a bit from John Lynches shed. It may turn out useful now that the pump is undrinkable. 

All roads from Dublin are passable to-day, except the Dublin to Kells road. The postman walked out from Kells to-day, but I hadn’t my letter ready for him. In any case it would get no farther than Kells as the Dublin road is blocked and the trains are not running on account of the railway strike. 

In front of our door the snow was level with the window sill. Some of the fields were hardly covered with snow while all the roads were blocked. It is raining heavy now (3.30pm Tuesday) so that will cause the snow to melt much faster. 

Katie Keogh was to have been married in Dublin this morning to a man called Fallon, a native of Multyfarnham. He has a garage in Clare Street, Dublin. Father Lynam was to go up to marry them and Mrs. Keogh, Johnny, young Seán and Miss Plunkett were to be there too. I suppose the wedding had to be postponed. Katie herself is in Dublin and may, however, have been married. 

Father Drake was saying mass in Johnny Tully’s on Friday morning. He had to leave his car there on the road and walk home. Several cars were snowed up between here and Oldcastle. Lynch’s big Lorry was the last car to pass on Friday morning. We shall anxiously await its return from Oldcastle, as it will be the dove with the olive branch, which will show us that the snow has abated from the face of the roads.

I hope Jimmie has by this time recovered from the flu. I suppose he is in the continent by this time. You cannot say at any rate that this is a short letter or an uninteresting one. I hope it will absolve me from writing again until after Easter in any case. Am not posting until tomorrow, Wednesday.


Your affectionate brother
Patsy


Late News:
The postman has just arrived with your weekly bulletin. We were glad to note that you all got over the storm ok. No word has arrived from Sissie yet. I am dropping her a line now as postal communication has been restored.

G and I were at mass this morning. We brought some ashes home to Ma. No school today either. We heard there were 9 or 10 lives lost in the storm. It is reported that 5 children were lost in the storm but the report is not confirmed. It appears Dr. Mulvany, our bishop, was on his way from Navan to Athboy on Friday last. He was forced to take refuge in a little shop outside Athboy (it must be near Moyaugher) and stayed there all night. He is still held up in Athboy. We heard to-day that K. Keogh may have been married as Fr. Drake walked into Kells and wired instructions to proceed with the marriage.


So long
Patsy


There is still 3 feet of snow on the road to chapel.


Courtesy of Ballinlough-Kilskyre Historical Society

When the sun shines

Living in Ireland you really do appreciate the sun more than most people I reckon, today was another one of those gorgeous days where it was hot and sunny.   I took a drive down to Greystones beach at lunch time, but only had half an hour, so tomorrow I am going to go at one and take my lunch down with me.   There were kids in the water on the beach, people walking enjoying the wonderful sunshine, and the best thing of all, last night it was still light at 11:00 PM, but really only for one more week and then the days start getting shorter again.

I took some photos on my trip today but left them in the car, I will make sure I take them out tomorrow and post them up.  Roll on many more days of sunshine!

Happy St. Patricks day

If I did not live in Ireland myself and know the Irish I would not believe this, but it is so true.

1) You will never play professional basketball.
2) You swear very well.
3) At least one of your cousins is a fireman, cop, bar owner, funeral home owner or holds political office. And you have at least one aunt who is a nun or uncle who's a priest.
4) You think you sing very well.
5) You have no idea how to make a long story short!
6) Much of your childhood meals were boiled. Instant potatoes were a mortal sin.
7) You have never hit your head on a ceiling.
8) You spent a good portion of your childhood kneeling in prayer (catholic guilt forever!).
9) You're strangely poetic after a few beers.
10) You are, therefore, poetic a lot.
11) You will be punched for no good reason....
12) Some punches directed at you are from legacies of past generations.
13) Many of your sisters and/or cousins are named Mary, Catherine or Eileen.
14) Someone in your family is very generous. It is more than likely you.
15) You may not know the words, but that doesn't stop you from singing.
16) You can't wait for the other guy to stop talking before you start talking.
17) You're not nearly as funny as you think you are, but what you lack in talent, you make up for in frequency.
18) There wasn't a huge difference between your last wake and your last keg party.
19) You are, or know someone, named Murph. If you don't know Murph then you know Mac. If you don't know Murph or Mac then you know Sully.
20) You are genetically incapable of keeping a secret.
21) You have Irish Alzheimer's...you forget everything, but the grudges!
22) "Irish Stew" is a euphemism for "boiled leftovers."
23) Your skin's ability to tan -- not so much.
24) At this very moment, you have at least two relatives who are not speaking to each other (not fighting, mind you, just not speaking to each other).
25) Childhood remedies for the common cold often included whiskey.
26) There's no leaving a family party without saying goodbye for at least 45 minutes.