21 September 2018

Rainbows over the brown bogland of Co. Mayo

Ten years ago, on the 27th of September 2008, Elizabeth and I got married on a dock over the lake at her parents’ farmhouse. It was a nice yet simple wedding, almost more like a family picnic that happened to feature two people getting married. The very next day we departed for our honeymoon in Ireland. Our wedding wasn’t a typical wedding, and the trip to Ireland wasn’t typical either. They say there are two main ways to see Ireland – clockwise or counterclockwise, of which we chose neither. Rather than trying to see a little bit of everything, we instead chose to focus on a single area and really learn that area. The rugged landscape of Connemara proved to be our type of place, and over the course of our two-week honeymoon, we really got to feel a part of the land there. We stayed in a traditional cottage that was part of a rediscovered pre-famine village, now a cultural center on over two-hundred acres. We didn’t see the Guinness brewery or Jameson or Temple Bar. We didn’t make it to Dublin at all, actually. The majority of our time was spent in only two counties. We connected to that place though, gladly trading all of the sights we missed for the experience of settling in and getting a feeling of home.

Our home in Ireland, a pre-famine stone cottage on the boglands of Connemara

We had talked numerous times about when we would return to Ireland. We thought about it a couple years ago, choosing to go to Belgium instead. It was then we decided the best time to return to Ireland would be for our tenth anniversary. It was a special place over a special occasion, and a return in 2018 to celebrate our first decade together seemed like the perfect fit!

We decided to do this trip much the same way as we did ten years ago. We would return to the west coast, still spending much time in Connemara and Co. Galway, but also going deeper into Counties Mayo and Clare. Maybe someday we’ll get over to Dublin or down to Cork, or maybe even to the counties in the middle, but this time we are going to return to where we know and love. As a pleasant surprise, we even were able to book the same cottage where we stayed for our honeymoon!

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This is the first post of this journey in Ireland!
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