May and the Irish Odyssey

One of the runners was a quick as me  cycling!
One of the runners was as quick as me cycling!

Just before Ton and Tineke left, Ton did the first leg of the Kintyre Way Relay which we were marshalling. Needless to say, it poured down and Claonaig was as wet and miserable as I’ve ever seen it. Three runners decided to call it a day there and ended up back at Larick House to warm up. Two of them had locked themselves out of their car in Tarbert and this was preying on their minds as they ran. I decided that some grand theft auto might just be possible and went equipped for a spot of breaking and entering.

The car was far too modern, so we left it up to the man from STAG Motors to wield his trusty piece of wire once he turned up. I don’t think it stopped raining once. They seemed in pretty good spirits as they left for Campbeltown to pick up the rest of their kit. I’m not sure why, when you think about it.

One of these days?
One of these days?

Anyway, I got to thinking about Jura and our proposed trip to the Shamrock O’Ringen and realised that one of them had to give. Jura no more in the words of The Proclaimers! In a way, making the decision was a bit of a relief because I don’t think I would have survived the Jura Race and certainly would not have been in good shape to drive to Ireland immediately afterwards.

Ready for the Off
Ready for the Off

We got off to a good start with a few days with Emily, Richard and Caitlin. It’s their fault living so close to the motorway. If you go south from Scotland on the M 74, you pass their door. Caitlin is officially gorgeous.

 

 

Much smaller than I'd anticipated and too much like a multiplex.
Much smaller than I’d anticipated and too much like a multiplex.

We’d decided to go to the orienteering at Killarney via Belfast and the west coast of Ireland. I wanted to see the Titanic building and we hoped to get in some kayaking. We managed both but I found Zaha Hadid’s building very ordinary and definitely nothing special. The kayaking too was OK but not extraordinary. I suspect we missed the special bits. Our recently made cockpit covers kept blowing off as we drove along so it’s back to the drawing board!

 

Inchincoosh Wind Farm, Day 1, Shamrock O Ringen.
Inchincoosh Wind Farm, Day 1, Shamrock O Ringen.

The weather for the orienteering was better than we’d expected so the bogs were reasonably dry. Cork O had negotiated with one of the wind farms so we were running around the turbines. It wasn’t a problem but I would have preferred a turbine-free course. As ever, the post race offerings at Killarney race course were first class and it was fun to meet up with old Shamrock friends but I hankered for the campsite on the GAA field with results in Creedon’s pub.

 

The GAA field in Inchigeelah which was the campsite for the SORingen in 1994.
The GAA field in Inchigeelah which was the campsite for the SORingen in 1994.

We left Eire via Dublin and some kayaking at Sneem and Glengariff and a trip to “Sadie’s Lodge” where Joanna took her first steps some 35 years ago. The sun shone and we enjoyed ourselves. We used to visit Eire fairly often but hadn’t been back for a few years. The cities had changed with new roads and buildings but the rural areas were much the same, apart from the invasion of Celtic Tiger money creating a mess of odd large boring houses in the countryside. I found it a little odd to be holidaying in an area so like Kintyre. I wonder if we’ll make it back? There is an extended version of the story of our trip here.

We had enough left over bits of fencing to repair one side of the drive.
We had enough left over bits of fencing to repair one side of the drive.

We got home via another E&R stopover and some dodgy orienteering in Perthshire to find the buttercups in full bloom and the rain on. We’ve had enough dry spells though for me to do some strimming and for Suse to plant the additions to the garden which we collected on our travels. We are slowly filling the garden up but it will be some time yet before the plants are big enough to make an impact. The repairs to the metal railings along the front drive turned out well enough and on-going fiddling with the field drains continues.

 

 

 

One thought on “May and the Irish Odyssey”

  1. Just a quick Hello from the Shugster. Drove past yer old house today on the way to Beecraigs. Still expected to see an orienteering marker suspended on the tree outside the house, and 10 cars lined up on the road, after doing some running thing in the Bathgate hills…

    : )

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