Mighty Craic – Dingle – Moments From Now

As the Aer Lingus plane prepared for landing, I had my face glued to the window for my first glimpse of Ireland… it was just as I imagined… green of every shade in a patchwork of tiny fields as far as the eye could see. Finally, we had arrived in Ireland. I’ll admit I was a little misty-eyed as we landed.

At Shannon airport we were greeted with the most cheerful and friendly customs official ever! Next, the rental car guy was just as friendly and cheerful. Something in the water maybe? This was our first taste of what was to be a common theme during our Irish experience. Bruce and I both agree that what has made Ireland amazing for us is the Irish themselves! Sure, the scenery is hard to beat, but the people have a knack of making you feel as if you’ve known them all your life in just a few moments. What a truly wonderful quality.

We met up with Greg at our B&B and we soon all set off together to Ennis for a pub dinner and traditional music. It all still seemed a little surreal!

Dingle was the next, much anticipated, destination. Greg, in particular, was very excited to be reunited with his many good friends. He has visited Ireland many times over the years and has lived with friends in Dingle for months at a time while performing. We felt privileged to spend time with these warm, talented people, being invited into their homes for meals and also, as it turned out, for a nights’ accommodation. We were all having so much fun that we extended our stay for a day.

Mighty craic (definition: fun & entertainment, especially good conversation & company) is the perfect description of our three days in Dingle. What a great time we’ve had! We were shown around the most beautiful and remote places each day by these new friends who ofcourse were familiar with all the special places on the peninsular, then were entertained each night with great traditional music at many different pubs in this colourful little town.

Greg just rocked up and surprised a few of his old mates. He has always been a joker, (usually really bad ‘Dad’ jokes) but the reaction on the faces of his mates was priceless! Then there was the reaction of the crowd when he started playing… Traditional Irish music usually has a very ‘polite’ rhythmic accompaniment with the bodhran.
However, Greg blew the crowd away with his performances on his little tambourine. It was funny to see people grabbing their cameras and coming from all areas of the pub to see what was going on.

Greg performed on the final night in a wonderful concert in an old church and overall must have performed about six times during the three days.

Oh… that’s right, there was also the spectacular scenery… our senses were overwhelmed. Steep, barren mountains, sheer cliffs, windswept beaches, misty islands, winding passes, ancient ruins, picturesque harbour and last, but not least, Fungi the dolphin (yes, for those that have visited Dingle, he is still here. He is now 42 years old!)