These thoughts are Ireland brought alive.

Birgit and I are recently back from a long-awaited trip in Ireland. What’s it like there?

Perhaps these thoughts and pictures will give you a taste of the south and southwest at least. If you’ve been already, I hope they bring back great memories.

101 shades of green. Bright yellows, blues, pinks and reds.
White houses clustering on hillsides.
Cobbled back alleyways.
Shared smiles and finger waves. Courtesy alive.
Pedestrian speed bumps.
Castles, forts and manors.
Unhurried drivers, and a town called Granny.
Miles of fuchsia hedgerows and golden sand beaches.
Brown cows, black cows and cream cows.
Windswept gleaming white lighthouses.
Guinness adverts enticing.
Megalithic tombs and Celtic crosses.
Hills shaded rust by waves of bracken.
Lochs reflecting.
Punk painted sheep alongside those washed and blow dried.
Pubs with pubs as neighbours.
Live music and dancing. Toes and heels a tapping with high kicks amazing.
Fishing boats and crabbing pots, hardworking fishermen.
Stark moments in history.
Tumbledown cottages, churches and coastal towers.
Dark craggy cliffs and crashing turquoise waters.
Surfers riding white crests.
Fine modern art statues and wall murals enthral.
Hurling, Gaelic football and rugby.
Elegant horses, donkeys and Connemara ponies.
Red hair, black hair and sparking bright blue eyes.
Wind to lean into, grass centred roads and shared smiles with farmers.
Footprints on virgin sand and soft grass to camp on.
Rainbows and stone bridges arching.
Rock walls straight up hillsides and peat cutting lines criss-crossing.
Tea coloured streams and tiny wild flowers.
Sunsets a blazing and dark clouds a chasing.
These are Ireland brought alive.

We’ll go back and see more one day for sure.