Easter in the Homeland

Shannon O'Leary
Apr 28, 2017
6 min read

Upon stepping up to the passport control desk in Dublin a nice woman took my passport and ask me some standard questions. She finished by asking if I had been to Ireland before and I proudly responded yes. She smiled down at my passport before closing it and handing it back to me.

"You just have a very Irish name." She exclaimed, her smile still on her face.

Even to the Irish, my name is excessively Irish.

And that is how my Easter break in Emerald Isle began.

It was the greatest blessing to know I would not only be seeing my entire immediate family for Easter but that we were all meeting in Ireland (or the Homeland as we'd all been calling it since the trip's finalization). My parents were first to arrive early Thursday morning and I was second, arriving just after midnight that day. As I entered the hotel they jumped up from their seats in the lobby and smothered me in hugs. It felt really wonderful to be seeing them in person and I could feel and see their love coming off of them. I realized later that this was an important observation because I know my family has always loved me, but it was much easier to see after having been a step back for some time and then having them close again. I was only an hour off compared to their five hour time difference as we talked until almost 2AM. I spoke of my trip to Prague, my host family, school, all things that I had texted and even spoken to them about on Skype but it felt different somehow, saying it all in person. With my sister's arriving just before 6AM we all thought it best to get some sleep and reconnect in the morning.

At at our designated wake up call of 8:30 I promptly greeting my sisters by climbing into their bed, laying on top of them and dramatically quoting a beloved quote of ours from Frozen:

"The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play!"

There was laughter and with that, our time together begun.

We planned a lot for our short time in Dublin, intending to see the city we did not explore upon our first heritage trip ten years earlier.

Friday started with an absolutely delicious continental breakfast and then we were off to Dublin Castle.

As a history nerd, I found the tour fascinating. Getting a solid glimpse into the history of Ireland as well the castle itself.

Funfacts: The national color of Ireland is actually a dark blue, not green as is often assumed.

The national symbol is the Irish Harp but the well know Guinness Company also has a harp for it's label. It is identical to the national symbol in all ways except that it is the mirror image. It won in the law suit because Guinness had been around long before Ireland was a sovereign country.

After the castle we walked to Christchurch Cathedral. The tour was also spectacular (tout guides in Ireland: 10/10). The only caveat was, since it was Good Friday, we could not ring the bells in the bell tower. Not to fret as we saw the treasury in the catacombs instead.

The next stop on our non-stop tour of Dublin was the Trinity College and the Book of Kells (fun fact, there is more than one book). Pro tip: buy your tickets online ahead of time. After seeing these beautifully intricate books we made our way to the Long Room an epic library that made my reader/writer soul cry with joy as well as a bit of pain thinking how those books are probably not read, or even touched, often.

We enjoyed a nice lunch all together (Italian food if you can believe it), took a stop at the Molly Malone statue (it's a famous song if you're in the mood for a Google), pursued through the famous wool sweaters and finally took a short nap before eating dinner in the hotel.

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It was colder than Italy and the clouds were in full force, but it was bright and I was thrilled to be there.

Saturday morning, (note: I woke up with my older sister at 6:30 to run four miles around St. Stephen's Green to help her train for her 10 mile race) we enjoyed a sunny walk to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Both the Cathedral and the grounds are beautiful. The variety of stain glass and the set up of tombs within the walls made St. Patrick's a historic treasure trove full of interesting stories. On the outside the green grass and blooming flowers created a peaceful atmosphere.

Our next adventure involved figuring out which city bus took us to our next stop: Malahide Castle. Not only did a beautiful castle(/mansion), flowering gardens, and expansive ground await us but a Harry Potter activity was also going on that day and yes, my adult family and I did get tickets.

While you can regret nothing Harry Potter related, the extravaganza was definitely kid centered and we ended up being five adults wandering around picking up sticks for wands because we didn't receive a "real" one.

Regardless we saw the entire estate and enjoyed lunch on the grounds spending a good chunk of our day there until we hopped back on the bus and returned to Dublin.

That night we enjoyed a traditional Irish meal at Oliver St. John Gogarty's and then headed down a floor to the (packed) bar and enjoyed traditional music. My younger sister and my dad enjoyed another two pints of Guinness each and I realized as the time went by that I'd officially gone out to a bar with my whole family. And that was pretty cool.

While my father wanted to stay at the bar until 2AM (crying tears of joy as he drank with his children listening to the Irish band saying it was the happiest day of his life and that our grandfather would be so proud of how my dad raised us....AKA classic Mel) we had an early wake up call with Easter Mass in the morning.

Safe to say we were all asleep when our heads hit the mattress.

Mass was in the beautiful St. Teresa's church right off of Grafton Street and was followed by a delicious brunch at a place called San Lorenzos. Our itinerary waited for no one, however, as we took a short break before hopping on a bus to Power's Court, consisting of a beautiful palace and extensive garden(s), named the 3rd most beautiful garden in the world. It truly was beautiful in spite of the rain teasing us by throwing a shower every now and again. While the roses were not in bloom many of the earlier blooming flowers were and rain or shine I would recommend all to visit (as long as you don't mind walking and a few hills now and again).

Tragically the palace had caught fire years ago and you can only see some of the rooms at certain times of the year.

The double decker city buses in Ireland made it easy to see the bit of country side we were exposed to during our journey's to these big estates. We spent the rest of the day at Power's Court and by the time we got back to Dublin we were walking just off St. Stephen's Green to find dinner (because food is always something we find ourselves coming back to). We chose a mismatched place with live music and an Alice in Wonderland like feel and enjoyed drinks and dinner together.

It never got old, realizing I was with my family, far away from home in a place that meant a lot to all of us. While I know our parents would like us to have stayed little you couldn't deny the smile in my dad's eyes and we all toasted our drinks or swore or made some joke or told a story and my mom loved hearing about how we all were, getting to laugh and drink and not worrying about us falling asleep at the dinner table. We were all together, really together, and I can't replicate or explain the feeling much beyond that.

Monday came, our last few hour together before we'd all have to go on our separate planes and fly back to our respective cities (and countries). But, we could not leave without having one more family bonding experience involving alcohol. Jameson Whisky Museum on Bow Street was complete with a detailed history of the business and family, an in depth, interactive explanation of how whiskey is made and the kinds of whiskey you can make, as well as whiskey tasting and a free drink coupon.

In conclusion: we drank a lot of whiskey.

Before we knew it we were back at the hotel helping each other with luggage and saying our so long's at the front door. My older sister and parent's left first leaving Katie and I to meander down Grafton Street for a while before we too headed to the airport.

The journey home was quiet. I'd been used to traveling alone but now I could really feel the silence. Being with my family was an irreplaceable experience and there is a deep place in my heart for Ireland. I love the country and the life and spirit of it and whenever I am away I can feel myself missing it...