G’Day from Melbourne
Back to Ireland
BY MIKE BOWEN
A
fter my recent interview with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (Irish Scene, Vol 24 Issue 1) , my son Jonathan and I took his advice and booked a holiday back to Ireland, and an outing to the Uk. The A380 with its double deck was the perfect plane to fly on with its comfort, quietness and space. Melbourne via Dubai to London and then, an Aer Lingus flight to Cork. Wearing masks was not as troublesome as expected, no problems going through check-ins or checking out on the other side. First morning we woke with the perfect view from our hotel window of the sun shining on the iconic Shandon. After reacquainting with some friends and catching up with Catrina Twomey at the Cork Penny Dinners who I promised to help in some way, we headed for Carrigrohane to visit the very unusual graveside of Rory Gallagher, Irelands greatest blues guitarist. Jimmy Hendrix was once asked what it was like to be the best guitarist in the world, he replied, ‘you should ask Rory Gallagher that’. With the sun still shining we drove to Kerry over the Cork and Kerry mountains, singing ‘Whiskey in the jar’. Our first stop in Kerry was to visit another friend, Cork man Pat Falvey, in his lofty home the Mountain Lodge in Beaufort. Pat was the first Irishman to climb the seven tallest mountains in the world, twice. Arriving in Tralee, it was time for a feast of bacon, ribs and cabbage along with smooth creamy mashed potatoes prepared by our host, Karl and Sheila Bullman who are very dear friends from way back in
the late 60s. Later we sat back in the local to watch the Munster V The Dragons rugby on their big screen and enjoy some Bulmer’s and Guinness just to wash down the scrumptious dinner. Rising to another fabulous sunny morning the four of us headed out the beautiful scenic peninsula to Dingle, then on to Dun Caoin at Slay Head, to visit the Old School from the famous movie (Ryan’s Daughter). While my traveling companions were wondering around the area, I spent a few hours writing and shed some tears at the beauty of this place and bore another heart ache at leaving my favourite place on this planet. A leisurely lunch and coffee back in Dingle and then another pitstop at the Connor Pass to be amazed by its beauty. Back in Tralee it was time to catch up with another old friend Ritchie Houlihan at his quaint little bar in Rock St. Surprise surprise Pat Falvey decided to join us for dinner at one of Irelands finest top-class restaurants THE IRISH SCENE | 69
