Erin Go Bragh

By: Erin McCarthy

Almost a year ago to date, I travelled to the number one place on my bucket list – Ireland. Ever since I watched the movie Leap Year, Ireland was a place that I just had to see for myself and take in all the beauty of the country. I did just that with my sister, Susan, and the company of a tour bus.

Thinking about everything now, and trying to remember what exactly I did on my journey, I look back at all my pictures I took along the way. 

There were certainly a lot of snaps, but how else would I remember all the sights I saw in Ireland? The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” certainly has played a role for me.

Taking It In

We travelled all across the country, from Dublin to Galway and even up to Northern Ireland. It was an experience of a lifetime for me and it felt so amazing being there. Travelling to Ireland has always been a dream of mine and I was thrilled to finally realize that dream.

Just the scenery of it all was breath-taking. Looking outside while the bus moved across the country and seeing everything had me amazed. The amount of greenery and land was beautiful to see – and seeing the occasional sheep or goat was cool as well.

Everywhere we went was an adventure. From hiking the path of Cliffs of Moher to walking all the way to the top of Blarney Castle, to a rainy day bus tour around the Aran Islands, it was just an adventure waiting to happen. 

One of my favourite moments was biking around Kilkenny. I haven’t ridden a bike years, but it’s so easy to just hop on a bike and go for a ride. Trying to avoid all the cars though; that was a little tricky. But everyone in Kilkenny were so kind that they didn’t mind pulling over letting bikes pass by. 

I also enjoyed just walking around Galway. There were so many quaint shops and restaurants to visit, it was simply captivating.

Newfoundland’s Sister?

While in Ireland, I did notice a bit of resemblance to Newfoundland, especially when we were in Londonderry. From one view, Londonderry looked very similar to downtown St. John’s and the Cliffs of Moher is just like Signal Hill in St. John’s. Sometimes, wherever we went, it felt like I was at home. 

Even when we were talking to store clerks or security guards, some of them would ask if we were from Ireland. 

When we’d say we were from Newfoundland, people would ask what Newfoundland was like and how they would love to visit there sometime soon. 

It was nice hearing people say they would come to Newfoundland to visit, but even better because they knew where Newfoundland was.

A trip like this was just what I needed. I wish it could have lasted longer than 10 days, but what it taught me was to have no regrets when going somewhere new. 

Time Goes By 

For me, Ireland was the trip of a lifetime, but this was also my first time flying ‘across the pond.’ I’ll admit, I was a little nervous, but when my sister and I landed in London and then boarded our flight to Dublin, I was feeling more excitement than ever before. But the time always goes by so quickly.

Even after having this wonderful adventure, I would go back to Ireland in a heartbeat. There’s still so much more to see in the beautiful country and so much more history to learn.

I will be back one day soon. In the near future, I will return to the place I fell in love with, and hopefully, see more and stay a lot longer.

Erin McCarthy, The Herald’s Graphic Artist, can be reached by emailing [email protected]

One thought on “Erin Go Bragh

  1. JOHN FUNCHION
    June 12, 2022
    Reply

    …i have always wondered when the earth landmass were together ireland and newfoundland were one (when you look at a map of the world you can see how the continents (jigsaw) fit into one another ‘which is proof that the cliffs of moher in ireland is the same rock as seen in these two photos of the cliffs in NFL and COM in ireland… john funchion

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