Trip "home" to Ireland
Summer 2001
Wondering where to go on vacation, my (then) husband and I decided it was time I visited Ireland. My mothers side of the family originate from Ireland, yet I had never been. My maternal Grandmother was so very proud of her Irish heritage and had once started writing a book about her family, telling tales of her Grandfather and Father when they lived in Brandon, Co Kerry I do not know where this manuscript has ended up following the loss of May and Roy Tomalin, I must ask my mother...
Our friends Debbie and James decided to join us, and so off we flew for a week away in the Emerald Isle.
As soon as we landed, something just felt "right". It sounds an odd thing to say, but feelings are often hard to explain, in reasoning and in words. Just know this, if it feels right it normally is. There is something to be said for gut instinct too, go with it!
We enjoyed a lovely time travelling throughout South West Ireland, including kissing the Blarney , travelling to Brandon village to stand on the pier that my Great Great Grandpappy built, playing with the Dingle Bay Dolphin and mixing with the locals in the bars drinking Smethwicks - Now there is a nice beer! (are you all over 18 yet?!)
We visited Cork one day and just hit the road in a hired car, not knowing or really caring where we were going. We saw a beautiful church spire so decided to stop for lunch and a walk, at the time not realising that we were coming across the old White Star Line ticket office, where the RMS Titanic docked.
RMS Titanic, built at the Harland and Wolfe shipyard in
Belfast Ireland, undertook her first and only voyage in April 1912. She was
marketed as the biggest and most luxurious liner to date. Ironically she was
deemed to be one of the safest ships afloat. Cobh, her last port of call, was called Queenstown at the
time. The last passengers to board the ship for its intended journey to New
York boarded there. Of the one hundred and twenty three who did so, only forty
four survived. Today, the original buildings, streets and piers of a century
ago are still standing. Having anchored briefly at the entrance to Cork harbour to
transfer her passengers and mail to and from Cobh, Titanic set sail on what
became one of the most notorious maritime stories of tragedy. The ship struck
an iceberg on the night of April 14th 1912 and foundered with the loss of over
1500 passengers early on the morning of the 15th.
It was a slightly eerie, yet fascinating feeling being on the dock that held this glorious "unsinkable" ship next to her, and we really enjoyed the museum that was next to the bar. I've always been interested in the story of the Titanic and more so, of it's passengers, the people that were on board, unaware that they were facing one of history's greatest tragedy's. Subsequently in 2012 Debbie and I visited the Titanic exhibition in London together.
All in all I found this trip to Ireland emotionally bonding with a Grandmother who was sadly no longer with me, but it bought a closeness to my roots. Never forget your roots, they are what make you who you are.
