Why I Love Ireland - And Why You Will Too

Every country in the world is unique, and none more so than the tiny island of Ireland. It is a land of great contrasts, in its scenery, people and food.

The west of the country can be as wild as the Atlantic Ocean that batters it on three sides from Donegal in the extreme north right the way down south to Kerry. Yet on the eastern side, around Dublin the scenery is more gentle. But not for long. Go north and you will find the Mountains of Mourne and travelling south from Dublin quickly brings you to The Garden Of Ireland - Wicklow and the Wicklow mountains.

Yet for all its wildness the Atlantic Ocean brings a milder climate to Ireland than you have a right to expect, considering it is on the same latitude as icy Labrador, in Canada. This is due to the North Atlantic Drift, driven by the Gulf Stream, bringing warmer water all the way north from the Gulf of Mexico.

Because of this it's possible to come across the sort of lush palm trees and vegetation you would normally only expect to see in more tropical countries. One of the benefits of this mild climate is the sight of fuchsias growing in great profusion by the roadside, out of the stone walls – in fact, everywhere. The most popular variety is Fuchsia Ricatonii, with a tiny red flower. Hereabouts they are called "the tears of God".

Many of the place names in Ireland sound strange to a visitor's ear, being from the Gaelic – the original language of Ireland. This has all but died out now in favour of English, although it is still spoken in the more remote parts, such as Donegal.

From time to time, you will also come across other strange place names of Viking origin, such as "strand", which is Norse for "beach". A thousand and more years ago Dublin was a Viking capital and studies have shown that a very high proportion of Irish folk have Viking firmly embedded in their DNA. This probably explains the popular (and totally undeserved) reputation of the Irish as being able to start a fight in an empty room!

But alongside this reputation lies a contrasting great kindness and good humour, love of literature, music, a good criac and . . . I can't get away without mentioning it . . . a drop of Ireland's most famous product: Guinness.

The Earl of Iveagh, always claimed Guinness was good for you and there was a tale that a woman in Limerick lived for twenty years on Guinness alone.  It might not be entirely true, but worth a try, anyway!

Not that Guinness has it to themselves, as there are least five other excellent brands of beer, not to mention Ireland's other vital product – whiskey. Note the spelling with an "e", so you don't confuse it with a similar product, but without and "e".

You'll then realise the formula for whiskey was taken to the United States of America by Irish immigrants and is alive and well in the form of Jack Daniels and other American cousins – albeit made from corn, rather than barley.

You can't mention drink taken without mentioning the Irish "pubs" (bars to our American cousins). And you won't go far before you come across a pub with that other great Irish export: music.

From Tulough O'Carolan, the great seventeenth century harpist - one of whose melodies form the basis for the "Stars and Stripes For Ever" – to Enya, Joseph Locke and Paddy Maloney and the other Chieftains, Ireland has been synonymous with music – particularly traditional folk music.

And just, like the whiskey pedigree of Jack Daniels, Irish music travelled to The New World in the 19th Century, mixed with other influences and became Country and Western and came back to these shores as Irish Country Music.

Nor is Irish food without its own contrasts. Originally born out of great poverty – but no less tasty for that - modern day cuisine matches the finest in the world, a fusion of the freshest, finest ingredients you will find anywhere: the finest seafood from the clean clear Atlantic and beef, reared on the clear sweet grass of the Emerald Isle, with the classic flair of French cuisine.

Modern as Ireland might be, with its flourishing movie and software industries, the dark side of the Irish Celtic nature soon comes to the surface on wild winter nights, when the Atlantic gales blow hard. Then it's not too difficult to believe the old tales  of The Little People and Darby O'Gill.

Then, come morning, the shadows and their mysterious secrets disappear again and it's off to work the spotless cutting edge 21st Century factories of Microsoft and  Adobe.

So, when you come to Ireland, be prepared to be dazzled by the lushness of the grass and the brilliance of the wild flowers in the hedgerows. And, if you encounter one of the famous "soft days" when it seems like the rain will never stop, be assured they will fade away in a bar whilst a fiddler and a whistle player soothe you with an Irish melody or two.
 
© 2007  Joseph Donegal and The-Best-Of-Ireland.com