Past 2 weeks: St. Pat's and more

Obviously I am waaaay behind in my blogging. I always keep a running list of blog topics, and presently I'm overwhelmed with all that has transpired since mid-February, and here we are almost into April...yikes! Trust me, the hiatus is not due to a lack of Irish Encounters, but rather the abundance of such...

Briefly, I will give you a glimpse: I spent 5 days in Northern Ireland with my fiancee and his family...there are 30+ of them in the clan, and essentially all of them living on the same property in County Tyrone. It was quite the cultural experience! Hopefully I can blog more about this later. We enjoyed long runs through the farm land, along Loch Neagh, and past old Celtic high crosses...to return home to a standard Ulster fry (also known as "heart attack on a plate") and tea. We also spent an afternoon in Belfast (saw where the Titanic was built). Oh, that reminds me, I also spent a night in Portadown and saw places of significance during the Troubles...again, more on this later...

Then we returned to Dublin and had an eventful weekend celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Some friends of mine threw a party with a real traditional Irish band: accordion, fiddle, mandolin, Irish harp, dulcimer, and recorders/penny whistles. Special music was interspersed with readings of Irish poetry and general sing-a-longs. (I wondered if we in the US have so many traditional songs that can be sung together, where everyone present knows all the words and such?)

We went to the St. Patrick's Day parade, the ceilidh dancing in the town square, and to a pub for the mandatory glass of Guinness (hopefully more about all of this later). It was fun to be in the midst of so many people dressed in green and filled with lively, friendly Irish spirit and camaraderie! (I sported a scarf with green shamrocks given to me by the relatives.)

Some friends also took us to prehistoric site of Newgrange, a fascinating passage tomb dating back to the Neolithic times, 5,000 years ago! Again, I will hopefully write more about this. We also went to Monasterboice, a Christian settlement that dates to the late 400's, where there are two 14th century abbey ruins, a round tower, and two very well-preserved 10th century Celtic high crosses.

I worked during the week, then we went back up to the relative clan in Co. Tyrone for the final days of Holy Week. I was back in Dublin for Easter--played my violin at church as usual and had lunch with friends. So there ya have it. A very surface glimpse at some highlights of March, though definitely lacking proper elaboration and reflection...