Trip To Ireland Part 7 - Brunch, Sickness, and the Island

Since my last post a few days have passed. Now, I will try to capture the highlights of the time in between then and now. On Sunday I went to mass in the nearby town of Buncrana at a church on top of a hill. The weather was exactly the opposite of my golfing day, and despite the irony, I still enjoyed the weather. I was surprised at how packed the church was, but, as this is Ireland, they take Catholicism quite seriously. Fortunately, the priest at this mass was nowhere as pessimistic or as much of a doomsayer as the priest who I remember yelled at the entire congregation from when I was here before – I did not need to be reminded that “there is a seat in hell for all of us”.

After mass we went to a beautiful lunch with many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. For the first time in awhile I got to see Joanne, Simon, Cormac, Damien, Kelly, Sinead, Barry, my aunt Shelia, Sean and Yvies. I also got to see, for the first time ever my new cousins Rory, Aoife, and Connor. I was pleased that so many of the family could come and was really happy to see Phillip, Catherine and Martin all again. After lunch and playing with my cousin Elliott for awhile I went online and spoke with Savanna and posted parts 5 & 6. Then I went back to the cottage where many of my cousins from the lunch were along with my cousin Gavin and his beautiful girlfriend Paula. I spoke with them for awhile and then everyone left. By this time I started feeling pretty awful and went to sleep in the back room. When I awoke I was still feeling bad so I took some medicine at the advice of my aunts and went to sleep in my room. I was kept awake for awhile by my uncle Joe at the foot of my bed, my dad standing above him, and people speaking outside my room. It didn’t help that the door was open, but based on the construction of the house, the door being shut wouldn’t have made much of a difference. I awoke later in the night with a fever and a massive sweat.

I took more medicine and slept until the next day when I was awoken to say goodbye to my uncle John. It was good to see him again and be reassured that I have a place to stay in Manchester. Hopefully I can make it there.

By this point I was feeling much better and decided to test my health by going to brunch with everyone to my uncle Joe’s favorite café in Buncrana. I had a light lunch and just drank juice, but everything went well. Thus passing my self-health test I decided I was well enough to venture with everyone into the city of Derry. Derry is a beautiful city surrounded by fortified walls. Pat, my grandfather, Katie, my little sister, and my mom all decided they would go see the Tower Museum and take a bus tour. My older sister and I wanted to do some shopping and walking. We started by visiting a store dedicated to the Irish Gallic football team and then made our way by a historic church (The Tower of Colombo) and outside one of the city gates.

Then we headed another way and met some local children playing with an adorably soft dog. This being the softest dog I have ever encountered I had to ask what kind it was to the owner when he emerged from the nearby store. I know he said it was some kind of Japanese dog that gets very big.


We continued down the side street and passed through the second and third city gates.

Then we ended up at the Tower Museum. Inside we were tolled that the museum closed in ½ hour but that wasn’t enough to get the full experience. We then diverted our plans and walked through the “arts village” of Derry, which seemed more like an abandoned village.

After this I got a coffee and my sister got a coke and we hung out at the main court in Derry, waiting for the rest of the family. Once everyone met we went for dinner at my uncle Joe’s former choir member’s house for dinner. Tony and Collette hosted a beautiful meal in their elegant home. There was a garden outside complete with a bridge over a coi filled pond. The dinner was very Irish with nut loaf, Irish soda bread, and homemade jam. After dinner we enjoyed videos of Tony and my uncle Joe kayaking through a school of dolphins! It was amazing to see dolphins swimming and jumping right next to the kayak. I was so impressed with Colette’s cooking and her and Tony’s hospitality.

Then we stopped by my aunt Kathleen’s to say goodbye to my cousin Colette and her children Elliott and Mora. They stayed with the family at Easter and I was really happy I could see them all again so soon. Her children are adorable and Colette has a very kind heart. Kathleen was there the night I was sick and was asking how I was doing. I ensured her I was doing well and am appreciative of her help. My aunt’s take very good care of me here.

The next day (Today) I decided to go with my older sister, Tony, Colette and my uncle Joe to his island. Yes, my uncle has his own island! He bought it at an auction to the surprise of everyone. We drove the car onto a ferry and then took a ride through the mountains to the point where we cross onto the island. The rode we took was the same that the rally car racers drive on when the tour through Ireland.Once on the island I went for a ride on the kayak. Tony and Joe went fishing while my sister read and Collette made lunch on the fire. I started getting ready to go windsurfing, but decided to eat beforehand. In the middle of lunch it started to rain. We gathered everything and went under the hut in mid-construction. We all sat having buns, onions, cheese, crackers, and tea. I felt very much like I was back camping with my parents in Algonquin park. We then packed everything up and headed back to the car. The tide was now out so I climbed over the rocks and got quite soaked from the rain. My foot was now hurting a bit from the climbing so I tried to take it easy. On the ride home we were all soaked and miserable. It didn’t help much that the ferry to take us back was delayed. Once home I was in good spirits just to be someplace dry, yet I still felt worn out. I said goodbye to Tony and Colette for the final time and thanked them for all their kindness. I will miss them until we meet again.



I then laid my stuff by the fire, took a shower, and got changed. Everyone went to dinner except me. I skipped out as I feel worn out, both physically and emotionally, from today. I just finished watching the Agronomist. That was an inspiring story.