And there was me thinking you'd have enough on with the new family addition and all ... Congratulations on both counts.. 

Is that off topic discussion and have to be removed??

-- Edited by tony2phones on Friday 24th of January 2014 07:38:39 AM

Bob- this should help keep you out of trouble!

I'm really quite humbled to hear so many nice things about me by my fellow, IrelandYes Irregulars.

My new 'Position' is merely to act as a 'Fail Safe' to help keep the pages free of Spam, while Michele is traveling.  Michele is still the Sherriff around here.  Which makes me, I guess, the Forum's equivalent to Barney Fife . . .      

I'm HARDLY an expert -- more like a fairly well-informed, journeyman.  My total time 'On the Ground' is roughly equal to LESS than 10% of Michele's and this appointment did NOT confer infallibility, or omnificent wisdom.  I am STILL well and truly capable of making stupid, bone-headed mistakes -- Just ask my wife!     

At any rate, some background:

Born in 1952.  Married in 1971.  Two children -- a daughter in 1976 and a son, in 1979.  Four grand-children.  Retired (IN Ireland!) in October of 2012.  Nothing much else to do NOW, but spoil the grandkids, haunt the Forum and plan my NEXT trip!

First trip to Ireland was April of 1999 -- a 'Green Blur-ish', 8 day visit to the SW.  I've been back, every year since (and sometimes, twice a year), utilizing B&Bs, hotels and Self-Catering.  I am fascinated by Irish History and consider myself a SERIOUS amateur researcher.  I tend to plan out every trip to the smallest detail in advance -- but, then, just 'go with the flow', once my feet hit the ground.  In other words, the NOW takes precedent over the PLAN. 

Judy -- Funny thing -- I know almost ALL there is to know about MY heritage (NONE of it Irish) due to the diligent efforts of two Aunts.  I can trace my Mother's family back to Governor Bradford of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (and beyond, to Douai, in France) and my Father's family to a village in NW Italy, near Turin.  I've never visited EITHER -- although they ARE on 'My List'.  We HAVE managed short forays into Scotland, Wales, England, Belgium. Amsterdam and Paris, but ...

Can't seem to get too far past Ireland.  I think it was that first breath of peat-tinged air, outside Shannon Airport.  Or, maybe, it was the sincere, warm Welcome, from my wife's Irish Cousins.  I can't say.  Back in 2006, I posted this on Fodors.  It sounds a bit pretentious, now, but I THINK it's still valid:

"WHY IRELAND?

I've made visits to Ireland in April of 1999, June and July of 2000, April of 2001, February of 2002, April of 2003, June of 2004, 2005 and most recently, in April of 2006. Friends and family ask me why we keep going back. Why not go somewhere else? Why keep going to the same place, over and over? Why go to Ireland, at all?

Experiences flash in and out of memory, the images from each trip flicker brightly and then fade, growing dim in my minds eye. They blur and run together, until I am no longer certain which memory which image is unique to which journey. I tell myself that each trip is meant to further my research, with specific goals and objectives, unique to each Spoke in the current segment of the Wheel. That is what I tell everyone. It is what I tell myself. But, Im not certain whether that is the truth, anymore. Being in Ireland has robbed me of all objectivity. I only know that something calls me back periodically, as if to refresh some cherished, childhood memory, like the nurturing scent of freshly baked bread.

There is something about Ireland that resonates in my soul. Being there is like savoring that first taste of coffee in the morning. After that instant in time, the sensation is never again repeated. It can never, ever, taste that good again, until the next morning comes back around. Sensations diminish with time, until they becomes little more than faded memories. Once that happens, I must return to the well, once again and be renewed.

When I stand upon the mountaintop of Mushera, at Knocknakilla, or traverse the narrow boreen that meanders past Castle Donovan, enroute to Coomleigh, I am at peace with the world and with my place, within it. More importantly, I am at peace with myself.

I stand at the base of the Rock of Cashel, enraptured and remark to Patricia that there is more history, in just that one limestone scalp, then exists anywhere within our entire country. I find that realization comforting. Oddly, such moments trivialize my own insignificance, for if my homelands legacy pales in comparison to one rocky dome in the midst of the Golden Vale, how then can my own failings matter? I walk away refreshed, knowing that they do not. Ireland grants me absolution.

So, Ireland holds my demons at bay, for a while, at least. She has that power and I embrace her generous Mercy.

Timelessness drips from the hills, the bogs and the sky. Great, gray, mossy woolen clouds hang low, over hills of glistening emerald. Tendrils of gauzy, linen opaqueness trail silken traces of soft, buttery dampness that yields a gentle moistness, to caress the skin with a tender touch of satin. These are the fabrics and textures of Ireland. They form a cloak that envelops the body and nurtures the soul.

     Given that, WHY NOT, Ireland?"

-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur on Saturday 25th of January 2014 10:01:42 PM

"I've made visits to Ireland in April of 1999, June and July of 2000, April of 2001, February of 2002, April of 2003, June of 2004, 2005 and most recently, in April of 2006. Friends and family ask me why we keep going back. Why not go somewhere else? Why keep going to the same place, over and over? Why go to Ireland, at all?"

Funny, my wife and I got that question a lot from family and friends back around the same time you wrote this because we had gotten into a groove of going every year from 2002 to 2007. Previously I had been in 1990, 95, and 98 then met my wife in 2001 and when we met I said to her (quoting roughly from memory): "The only way I'm going to know if you are the one for me or not is if we travel to Ireland together. After those 10 days I will know.". Well we got engaged in 2002 shortly after we returned from our trip.

Now we have branched out a bit since 2007 and visited other places like Scotland, England, Switzerland, and a lot of time in Germany but have both concluded that we love Ireland the best and need to go back to spending more time there. For me personally you've captured the reason why perfectly with this one sentence:

"More importantly, I am at peace with myself."

That's it exactly. I am never more at peace than when I'm on holiday in Ireland. This fact really struck me on my trip in 1995 with my father. We visited Doolin along the way for one night. A place I've said some not so nice things about recently, but on that day my dad and I checked into a B&B and he was tired so took a nap while I walked down the street to McGann's pub. It was mid afternoon and the place was almost empty. I sat at the bar and my intention was to just have one pint and then go for a walk but I was having a nice chat with the bartender and looking out the window to my left was a nice green field with some sheep and as the afternoon wore on I felt for the first time in years that I didn't have a care in the world. I felt more relaxed and at peace than I ever had in my life. I just stayed and my father eventually got up and walked down and met me there and we had dinner and waited for the musicians to show up and show up the did. What unfolded that night in McGann's to me was pure magic. It was the type of Irish trad music session that made Doolin famous I think. It's the type of day and evening I've since experienced many times over in Ireland in places like Westport, Feakle, Kinvara, Clonakilty, Kinnitty, etc. There's just no place else in the world like Ireland.

Anyhow, I've rambled enough. Good luck and congrats for becoming a moderator and more importantly thank you for becoming a moderator and donating your time to help keep this place the really nice forum that it is.

Mark