Yesterday as I was walking down from the hill above Annauscaul Lake, wet, and with my feet completely soaked and squishing as I walked, I wasn’t too concerned as I knew that just a few hours away I would arrive to dry socks and shoes and an easy cup of coffee and food.
Being here, I have a tendency to romanticize the landscape, the castles, the monastic life, the farms and little stone houses with slate-covered roofs. But the reality for the people who have lived here over the centuries, and even millenia, is of an existence, until recent times, dominated by wet, cold conditions, hard work, poverty, hunger, illness, invasion, fear, superstition, and the hardships of losing loved ones to disease, war, famine and emigration.
The toughest of the tough have survived, and gone on to live their lives and raise their families in Ireland, and all over the world where the Irish emigrated and started new lives. So, as I enjoy the comforts and hospitality of this country, I need to be cognizant of what went on before, and grateful of all that is here now. I wish with all my heart for the continued peace and prosperity of Ireland and its people.
Very good point about romanticizing the area. I tend to do that too!