A Post Vacation Reflection

It's been less than a week since I returned from my annual vacation. This year most of my time was spent in in eastern Ohio where many members of my family live and work. For my birthday, besides the party held on the day, members of my family pitched in to send me and one of my sisters to enjoy a quick trip to Ireland. There are many tours to chose from to visit the emerald Isle. Our tour was the "Taste of Ireland." It began in the capitol city of Dublin. Who knew that Dublin is over 1,000 years old, and founded by Danish invaders? Since it is 55 years since I pronounced my first vows as a Daughter of St. Paul, the Lord provided me with an anniversary present--a trip to the Emerald Isle for the emerald anniversary. In Dublin we visited Dublin Castle which for centuries was the seat of power especially under British rule. When some North American tourists remarked that the portraits of former rulers from the British monarchy still adorned the walls of the splendid staircase, our guide assured us that "In Ireland, when it comes to history, we just turn the page." It was a matter-of-fact an hopeful comment. Our guide pointed out that the Irish president is just 38 years old, the son of an Indian father and an Irish mother. Ireland is an active member of the European Union. The euro is the currency in use That first evening we went to a pub outside of the city to enjoy an Irish supper and a show with Irish song, and ending with a performance by Irish Step dancers. Our bus had only 39 passengers. Yet the pub had several busloads of people who joined us for dinner. A few people were not in tour groups. One couple from New Jersey was there to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Their son had planned the trip and drove them around the country. A couple in our group was celebrating 15 years of marriage. We all enjoyed celebrating together. For two nights we were lodged in a hotel in Killarny. From there we visited the countryside which is very rural. Our driver pointed out that the country's previous population had been eight million. Due to the devastation of the Famine and persecutions, Ireland has about four million inhabitants. In the larger cities, much of the help in the hotels and restaurants was made up of immigrants from Easter Europe. We saw an abundance of sheep and cattle, both dairy and beef animals. Jim (Seamus) our driver pointed out the hills and mountains where people went to celebrate Mass when Catholicism and the priesthood were deemed illegal. "Priest rocks" were hiding places as well as places for Mass.