nature

The four year old pony, Floyd, ended up going to his first show on Sunday. He was third, in the pouring rain, which I was happy about as he was only ridden for the first time in January. Here he is relaxing the day after!

I lodged the planning application for the nature centre. As I am an engineer I was able to draw up the plans myself and do all the surveying etc. which means we only have to pay the application fee and because it is a conversion that is minimal. The barn would contain a farm café and an introduction to the flora and fauna to be found on the mile long nature walk around the farm. This has views of the Burren mountains and includes limestone pavement, rare and alpine flowers, native species of trees, farm animals, poultry and an unusual tidal freshwater lake or ‘turlough’ that attracts a variety of birds and even the odd otter. It is a bite sized piece of the Burren and hopefully you would leave armed with all the information to explore the other ten square miles and full up with a delicious lunch of local produce including our own Aberdeen Angus burgers or home grown soups and salads.

We plan to develop the nature walk to include play equipment such as zip wires and climbing frames to encourage children to complete the walk and pick up a bit of knowledge as they go. We have also included an indoor play area for rainy days. It rained all Sunday and when I tried to google ‘things to do with children indoors in Galway’ the only results were the Aquarium in Galway city (been there), the museum (shut on Sundays) and the swimming pools (they were swimming on Saturday). There is a huge need for indoor facilities for locals and tourists.

We applied for a nature centre in the Celtic tiger years. Our plans were way more ambitious with a state of the art new eco building and holiday apartments. Although Galway County Council approved the application and we had huge support from all the locals and the Galway Enterprise Board were (and still are) backing the project, one objection pushed the application to An Bord Pleanala (the planning appeals board) who notoriously do not agree with Galway County Council and it was refused. It is amazing how one €20 euro objection can disappoint so many. We are hoping that in these tough times if the same person objects (they have 5 weeks to do this) the appeals board would see it would be crazy to stop a new facility that will create jobs. We have been careful to address all the issues raised by them in the previous application but ‘what will be will be’. If it doesn’t go through we will be have to consider looking again at the opportunities in London or further afield.

old friend

I have become used to not having any money in the bank but the credit in my ‘wellness’ account is very healthy. I was let go from my Celtic tiger engineering job a year ago, luckily my husband was able to secure a mechanics job when his business folded. It was hard to adjust but we are lucky to be able to hang on here on our small farm and just about cover the bills.

I have two young children and since then have been able to invest lots of time in them. I have taken up a part time volunteer’s job that has been very rewarding. I started running which has been fabulous and have met so many new people as everyone is running; no one can afford a gym subscription now. I am doing a government funded accounting course which is wrecking my head, but also sorting out that area that I was never confident about. I have had time to devote to my writing, which fulfils some deep creative need and I am nearly ready to lodge a planning application to convert the farm shed into a café for a nature walk. Everyone is coming down to earth and realising that a healthy bank account doesn’t necessarily mean they are wealthy.

I trained a four year old pony over the winter and he is going to Galway County Show in two weeks time. As he has to be fat and shining and also ridden by a child I took him for a long ride yesterday morning to settle him down. It was his first time on the road, as he has only just been shod, and although I left very early to avoid traffic and it was a bank holiday, we still managed to meet a vast array of vehicles including a JCB and two gigantic silage tractors and trailers. He was excellent with the traffic although strangely afraid of a cow standing suspiciously on the horizon. We had a huge argument about not turning back and going home, which I won, luckily.

Part of the route took us down a long straight road called the New Line. It cuts through a huge expanse of Burren limestone pavement and is unsullied by poles or wires. It’s like the moon. It was one of the original sites considered for Shannon Airport. Bloody Cranesbill is flowering at the moment, splashing shocking pink here and there and orangey-yellow hills of Birdsfoot trefoil are dotted around amongst the scattering of Michaelmas daisies. A lone hare lolloped down the road ahead of us. It was drizzling with that warm, early morning, Evian spray of summer rain. We surfed along on endorphins feeling serene. It was like that delicious plane between wake and sleep when your brain has not shut off but it has stopped accepting any signals of physical or mental stresses.

Recovering from yet another wedding I was watching a bit of Oprah and Portia de Rossi was promoting her book. She introduced her mare and proclaimed ‘she saved my life.’ To many that may sound sensational, but I understood.

When I was a young girl in the pit of depression, with a tiny baby, living in a small cottage with no running water or electricity and locked in the mental prison of a controlling relationship I pinned the last thread of my will to exist, and my last few pennies, on a small, untrained 5 yr old chestnut gelding. He was a problem, a runaway.

He taught me that there was only one option- forward, and any obstacle could be overcome if you focus on the far side. He pulled me out of the pit, and took me to many exciting places. He is 28 now and although I was offered 50,000 punts for him after he won his first event he is still out the field eating grass. So I understand.

i do

I haven’t done the Siege of Ennis for a while.

It’s a set you don’t have to worry about forgetting (or learning); designed for the young, old, alien or inebriated.

In a nutshell:

• Stamp towards the opposite four people
• Stamp back
• Gallop to the right
• Gallop to the left
• Twizzle around
• More stamping
• Line up and pass under the arches of the arms in front to change partners.

And if you try to do something wrong you will quickly be diverted to the correct traffic flow. It mixes up the crowd and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

We have an old friend who never had a girlfriend. He got married on Saturday (to a woman!). It was a nice surprise for the 200 guests.

I was watching the legs pass to communion and 99% of them had a fake tan. No one does style like the Cailín. Any one of them was match fit for Sarah Jessica Parker.

An Irish wedding is a full day operation. The service is normally around 1pm. Therefore everyone is rushing to get ready and doesn’t have lunch. While the photos are being taken people normally hang around the hotel catching up with friends and have a ‘few’ drinks. The meal starts at 5 or 6pm, at which point you are fainting with hunger and totally intoxicated.

The bridal party sit at the top table on display to the guests, looking rather worried and exposed until the speeches are over. The cake is cut, tables are cleared away and the band comes on with a disco afterwards until 3 or 4 am. There are rock songs, ballads and waltzes – something for everyone. It has always been acceptable for two women to waltz if they can’t get a man to go up with them, or a crowd of young guys to mess around on the floor together, but what was new, and would have been unusual to see even 5 years ago, were two girls hooking up, and two guys getting cosy. So civil partnership is in and things are filtering down to ground level. There is a healthy new level of acceptance about a lot of stuff.

Some friends were telling us about a wedding they went to in New York back in 2003. They were done up to the nines for the service and were amazed to find everyone in shorts and T shirts in the church. So they thought ‘we have got this all wrong’ and went back to the hotel to change into something casual. When they got to the reception everyone was in Armani suits, you can imagine how uncomfortable they felt. There was a huge buffet and they thought ‘this must be the meal’ and, as they were starving, they piled up there plates. They were then ushered through to the 6 course banquet. The next day was the famous power cut and they had to give a cab driver $100 to get them out of the city…all very confusing!

So if any of you haven’t been to an Irish wedding you now know what to expect; have a big breakfast, cancel everything for 2 days (you wont be fit for anything the day after) and don’t spare the false eyelashes..

true love

 

Not everyone could be in Moneygall or College Green yesterday.

I was in Out Patients most of the day with my 17yr old son who broke his arm falling off a horse 6 weeks ago.

There were over 100 people waiting for reviews of broken bones; children, seniors and disabled, all called for 1pm.

That makes no sense, the place was crazy.

But it forced us to sit next to each other for four hours which I am so grateful for.

Since he left home to start a ‘career’ riding horses I haven’t seen enough of him.

I miss the thud, thud, thud of the slither hitting off the gable wall, that drove us mad for 12 years.

When I see groups of his friends in the village his absence is painful. He should have had a couple more years of that care free existence.

The yellow school bus seems to wait around corners to pounce on me and break my heart every couple of days.

We were comfortable in each others company and a few sensitive subjects were broached that you couldn’t attempt on a quick visit.

Of course I want him to go back to school. I know education is the key,

but I don’t know how to sell that to an invincible 17yr old who cuts the cast off his broken arm because it is annoying him.

Outside x-ray we had a radio and we all strained to hear as Obama left the American Embassy.

Big excitement as the car got stuck and texts went off all around the room ‘Obama’s car is stuck on the ramp’

Outside Physio there was a small TV. Nurses, doctors and patients were glued to it as he arrived in Moneygall.

It didn’t do much for the progress of the queue but we can forgive him that.

We saw him drink The Pint.

I saw Air force One arrive before I left and I got home just in time for The Speech.

We have no money, the hospitals are in chaos, it has rained for the last month but everyone is in love today.

An American President in Ireland is guaranteed a good reception, but yesterday was special.

We are a small country, but we have a big, handsome friend.

bless

It was first Holy Communion on Saturday. Bouncy castles popped up in every other garden, people came on the radio complaining about the amount of money thrown around, that the only people not affected by the recession were 8 year old children who would pocket hundreds of euro. 50 would be standard in a card from a family member or close friend. Then there is the outfit and new clothes for the rest of the family, caterers or a hotel, drink..etc etc etc… Little girls first Holy Communion outfits (dress, shoes, bag, veil, tiara, umbrella) can run into hundreds. Some schools have insisted on school uniform to stop the competition and keep the focus on the ceremony, which is a good idea. But it is also good for a child to have a day that is about them. They are special, maybe spoilt, but they have a clear signal from their family and community that they are cherished, and that is hugely important for a child.

The joviality of the weekend was blown away by the news emerging of child abuse in the area. Snippets of ghastly information filtered through over a couple of days. Anyone in authority was tight lipped and kept a stony cold silence, terrified to invade privacy or make false accusations.

You always hear that there is abuse in every community, behind closed doors. When discussing this with friends we would say ‘surely not?’ and ‘which kids are vulnerable?’

And it was always these two.

How I wish I had made a determined effort to reach out to them, called around to their house, reported my suspicions. There were little red flags; grubby clothes (that’s not a crime especially if you are a struggling parent, we are all guilty of a dirty uniform day), never accepting invitations for play dates or birthday parties (that is a parents prerogative), living in a remote area and often seen wandering on the road unsupervised from a young age.

When details emerge you know deep down that this was not an isolated incident; this was a 7 year sentence. There is a huge wave of grief, especially among mothers with children their age, we should have done more, we are all complicit.

The facts are the children are not in school, the official line from the school is ‘they are in good health and good hands’, the rest is hear say.

But the story rings true and it is a very hollow sound.

If you suspect child abuse click this link for advice http://helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm

burren in bloom

I was at a hen weekend, the bride’s sister had originally planned that we rented a cottage in the Doonbeg 5 * resort, but reality and the recession bit and everything slowly downscaled to a house borrowed off her cousin in Carron, County Clare. There was a bit of initiative needed to make up for the tight budget and we started with a treasure hunt across the Burren, counting gates and searching in graveyards for clues. On our quest we visited the famous dolmen at Poulnabroune and Caherconnell Stone ring fort. The area is heaving with fascinating stone-age archaeological sites. It was a great ice breaker as we didn’t all know each other and good fun with extra points for number of different animals photographed along the way. There was a costume designer on my team and it was good to hear that the film industry seems also to be thriving in the barren economic pastures. Her current project is for the RTE web series ‘Storyland’ –a competition for new drama. The mockumentary she is working on ‘The Outlaw Concy Ryan’, filmed in Limerick, is through to the next stage and will raise a smile. (www.rte.ie/storyland )

The hunt lead us to the start of a two hour gentle uphill walk over the hills, through fields of Mountain Avens, Birdsfoot trefoil, the last of the Spring Gentians and the start of the Orchids. A Burren flowers ap for the iphone would be handy. It is Burren in bloom week (www.burreninbloom.com ) When we reached the summit we were met by a view of the warm stone hills folding softly down towards the sea at Ballyvaughan and a picnic with Kinvara smoked salmon and, of course, champagne.

From a limited kitty the chief bridesmaid had piled the kitchen high with local produce. The mouth watering slow-cooked, caramelised pork belly and marinated rack of lamb, salads and spicy vegetable dishes deserved way more stars than 5.

I met the bride over fifteen years ago, we were both young mothers and she was the one to care enough to tell me to my face that I should leave the abusive relationship I was in.

-That it was not ok to be treated like that. Everyone else, I am sure, was saying it behind their hands and my back. When you’re young and naïve it’s hard to see the wood for the trees especially when there are children involved. Over a few Cosmopolitans eyes welled up as I told her, yet again, how grateful I was to her and blessed to have her as a friend, and how strong, supportive and insightful she had been at such a young age.

But it was mostly smiles and laughter and the bride ended up dressed as a chicken having lost the Mr and Mrs quiz.

cuckoo

 

It was the Cuckoo weekend, The Fleadh na gCuach, music and arts festival. (http://www.kinvara.com/)

We caught a few sessions, Stillwater blues in Flatelys, some trad in the back room in Tullys and set dancing at the Pier head.

The new café was open and we got our first spin this year in the boat, a timber curach my husband finished restoring last year.

Out on the bay is the best place to soak in the atmosphere.

Chugging along on the calm water, passed the swans, out towards Dunguaire castle with the sun on your back is serene.

The castle, a 16^th century square, stone tower surrounded by a high, hexagon defensive wall on a round island connected to the shore, defends the village from attack.

Traveling around the seaward side of the island you can see bunches of pink alpine flowers hanging from the crevices of the castle walls.

Turning back towards the quay the grey blue Burren hills are the backdrop to the candy coloured street that curves along the quay.

Tobermory on the isle of Mull is the famous location for the children’s program ‘Ballymory’ and its primary coloured houses lining the port are famous; blue, red and yellow.

Kinvara outshines it with lime green and purple, orange and cupcake pink. On the grassy quay the colourful stalls and tents draw a happy milling crowd; locals, children, tourists and festival groupies.

As you turn in along the quay wall people wave in recognition and as you tie up friendly faces peer down and greet you. Everybody likes boats.

The next time I saw the castle was at the end of the Cuckoo ‘fun run’, my first 10k. As we came down the final hill from the Adrahan road the castle rose into view signaling the final stretch along the sea to the finish line on the quay

A cool beer in the Pier head, a window seat with another view of Dunguaire castle and big plate of roast duck was the perfect prize.

We are all glued to the blue tit web cam in the nesting box in Áras an Uachtaráin

There was huge excitement as she laid an egg every day until there were 8. She has hatched 6 now and daddy blue tit is working hard on the worm shift.

Check it out on

http://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/features/mooneycam/bluetitcam.html