​So, last week mid-week, Benji and I celebrated Charlie’s birthday with him by indulging in a memorable stay at Carton House…another one of those smashing hotels a handy half hour from Dublin.  Charlie and I both had been there with the ISE on training sessions/ away days about 20 years ago but hadn’t been back in a while.

​So, last weekend, Charlie and I accompanied Benji when he stayed in Barberstown Castle in Straffan, Co. Kildare…a handy half hour from Dublin.  OK, so it was really a Valentine’s treat for me and Charlie.  But try telling that to Benji…..who revelled in the plush surroundings and lapped up all the attention from hotel staff and guests alike.  We were reminded that his breed of shih-tzu were bred for Chinese Royalty during the Ming Dynasty.  As he strutted his stuff around the hotel, with his head and tail in the air, he was in his element.  As if to say “my people look at me, I’m here, you may approach, prostrate yourselves and pat me on the head!” 🐶

​At this time of year, lots of worthy charities are vying to raise much-needed funds.  One charity I like to support is The Irish Cancer Society.  It is the national charity in the Republic of Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those who have cancer. 

I was saddened to hear that Rod Stewart has announced he is to end "large-scale world tours" next year, but thankfully he brushed off retirement plans.  So, with a bit of luck, we may still see him in Ireland for years to come.  The British star, who will celebrate his 80th birthday in January, confirmed his 2025 European and North American tour dates will be his last major projects.   The 

​I’d hazard a guess that there wasn’t a home in Carrick in the 1970s that didn’t have one of these homemade nail pictures!  We definitely had.  I remember making very like this one in 5th class in the Presentation Convent in 1976! 

I was browsing through Prime Video looking for a film to watch this holiday weekend when I saw that The Shawshank Redemption is coming again soon.  This film comes from 1994 but is always worth a re-watch.  In some ways it’s hard to believe it’s 30 years old!!

If for some mad reason you’ve never seen it, it’s based on the 1982 Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The film tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who is sentenced to life in 1947 in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murders of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence. Over the following two decades, he befriends a fellow prisoner, contraband smuggler Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman). Red procures a rock

The Dean – This week I have my childhood friend Catherine visiting from Oregon.  As a treat, we travelled 1st class by train from Dublin to The Dean Hotel in Cork last Sunday. The Dean is ideally situated just beside Kent Train Station within walking distance of everything.

Check in to our twin room was not until 4pm but the bar at reception served cocktails so no worries.  After a quick check in our room on the 3rd floor was soon ready.  The guys at reception were friendly and helpful.

Similar to my recent stay in the Glasson Lakehouse, a sister hotel, the room had a Smeg fridge, munchies to buy, a retro turntable and records and a Marshall Bluetooth speaker.  The room was a good bit smaller though.

Dinner on Sunday night was very tasty in Sophie's on the 6th floor with a great view of Cork.  I had the pork chop/ pork belly combo, Catherine had linguine and we both had delicious panna cotta desserts, all included in our package.  Our waiter from Hungary was super attentive.  A very nice experience.

Breakfast on Monday morning in Sophie's was also delicious….I had the Eggs Benedict.  We enjoyed the food while taking in the great view of Cork.  We had a little time to chill before we headed for the nearby bus station.  I’m looking forward to returning already!!

The Field is a 1990 Irish drama film written and directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Richard Harris, John Hurt, Sean Bean, Brenda Fricker and Tom Berenger. It is one of my favourite films as I believe the acting of Richard Harris and the others was brilliant and absorbing. It was adapted from John B. Keane's 1965 play of the same name. The film is set in the early 1930s and was shot almost entirely in the Connemara village of Leenaun, a beautiful part of Ireland.

​One of the things I remember well from my childhood was the excitement of getting a new comic.  My mother Peggy sometimes shopped at the newsagents “down at the Bridge”, O’Donnell’s, and If I had been extra “good”, or there was money to spare, I would be treated to a comic.  It wasn’t every week mind you.  Those weeks when I wasn’t getting one, I could only look wistfully at that week’s new comic sitting on the shelf in O’Donnell’s and imagine what the stories would be.

When I was doing my recent blog on moving to Hill View 50 years ago, it got me thinking of the things that have changed for children in that time.  Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, one of the biggest things is the amount of time that we spent outdoors playing.  Hopscotch, betchels, tip (tag/ chasing), red rover, taws (marbles), elastics, skipping, juggling two-balls or three-balls against a wall and playing with a tennis ball in nylon stockings tied to your ankle and jumped over…. or hit side to side against a wall under and over your leg!  No wonder we were all so skinny.
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Television
To be fair, one of the reasons I played outdoors was that, for most of my childhood, I lived in a one-station television zone in Ireland.  We only had RTE 1 ….. in black and white! I envied those in Dublin and others on the east coast that could get the UK stations by aerial.   

​The performance of the Irish Olympics team in Paris was incredible and really lifted the mood of the whole country in this damp and miserable summer.  An unprecedented number of medals were won and national records broken.  They did us proud, every one of them.  One of the most memorable moments wasn’t even a sports performance for me.  It was seeing Irish boxer Kellie Harrington belt out Grace (her party-piece) in Stade Roland Garros after her stunning gold medal victory in the women's lightweight final.  

​This weekend 50 years ago, my family and I were getting ready for a life-changing move.  I was two months shy of my 9th birthday.  Our house in Mass Road had been earmarked for demolition by the Council and we had been rehoused in St. Mollerans….the bit on the Dungarvan Road renamed Hill View to make things easier for delivermen  The old houses, you see, on Mass Road had no running water or sanitation. None at all.  Most of our former neighbours had been rehoused at that stage so we were one of the last few remaining. 

​So, two weeks ago we got away to the “Lake County” of Co. Westmeath, just an hour and a half from Dublin.  We chose the 4-star Glasson Lakehouse as our hotel as it is promoted as being super dog-friendly……and that it certainly is.  It was our second time away with Benji, Charlie’s little doggy. 

​In re-reading my last blog post (B133: Cobh & Emigration), I was thinking again how my great grandparents John and Alice had the chance to return to Ireland.  Sadly, for some who would love to, this never comes to pass. 

​Nearly every Irish family has a story of emigration and migration.  When I was visiting my hometown last week, I took the opportunity of visiting Cobh in Co. Cork about an hour and a half from Carrick-on-Suir.  Up until 1920 Cobh was called Queenstown.  One of the major transatlantic Irish ports historically, the town was the departure point for 2.5 million of the 6 million Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950.