2004 Europe

O'Connell St., Ennis Ireland



June 14 – Today we are waiting for the rest of our Trafalgar tour of Ireland to arrive. We have built up so much laundry that we need to find a place to get it done. The hotel will do it but one pair of trousers will cost 6 Euro. That’s about $8 and we have a LOT of laundry. I found a place called the White Knight in the phone book listed as a Launderette. I called them and it is not a self-service place like the US but a man there will do the laundry for 6 Euro a washer full. We took a taxi over, delivered our things to him, and went on a walking tour of Ennis. It’s a nice downtown. The streets are narrow but they’ve made them all one way so that’s not a problem. This is just in the old downtown area. O’Connell Street (the main street in town) leads to a small central plaza with a column and statue of Daniel O’Connell (below) where I sat while Diana shopped.



Historical Note: You will hear and see a lot about Daniel O’Connell in Ireland. The main street in Dublin is also O’Connell Street. Statues commemorating him abound. Daniel was born in 1775 and was adopted by a wealthy Catholic Uncle. He was educated on mainland Europe and eventually became a prominent lawyer. He opposed violent revolution and favored achieving Irish independence by legal means. He was eventually elected to parliament but because he would not take an anti-Catholic oath was denied his seat in Westminster. The next year the government finally conceded Catholic emancipation and he became a prominent figure in the government and a tireless worker for repeal of the anti-Catholic laws. He is largely viewed as the George Washington of Ireland.



Pretty soon a man, Paddy believe it or not, sat down with me and we started talking about Ireland, Ennis, the US and all sorts of things. The Irish are nothing if not friendly. Soon we were joined by 3 young schoolgirls, 15-16. They’re having exams now and these particular girls didn’t have an exam today. So Paddy tells them that I’m a cousin of GW and they actually believed him. I tried to deny it but that just made them believe it more. Apparently later this month ‘The Pres’ is visiting Ireland and Paddy’s story was that I was an advance man checking on places that could be made secure enough for GW to visit. That sealed it. No matter how I tried to get the truth across, the girls became more and more convinced that I was GWs cousin. They had their picture taken with me and people were shaking my hand. GW is not as unpopular over here as the media would have us believe.



A little later two women in their 30s came and sat by the column. They were talking and didn’t seem to be having a problem until, suddenly; one woman started screaming at the other. Apparently the other woman has accused her daughter of ‘strolling the catwalk’. This is apparently Irish slang for being a hooker. They were yelling at each other. One accusing, the other denying. Finally they got up to leave and I started to breathe a little easier. Just that quickly, on the sidewalk right in front of me, the mother takes a swing at the other woman and the donnybrook began. There were slaps, punches, hair pulling, pushing and general bad language all over the place. Soon the daughter in question, looked about 17, came back and tried to break the women up. No luck. These were no lightweights and they each had a pretty good grip on the other’s hair. Finally a truce was called. The mother lost a big hunk of her hair and the other woman had a bloody nose. They walked off and order was restored. Paddy tells me they’re ‘traveling people’. That’s the Irish polite way of referring to Gypsies.



When Diana came back I tried to tell her all this and she wouldn’t believe me so I let it drop. We walked back to the laundry and after paying 18 Euro, the cost to launder three pairs of pants at the hotel, for the entire batch we walked to the corner to catch a cab back to the hotel. After we settled in the cab the driver asked if we were enjoying ourselves and I said that the weather was sure good and so was the entertainment in the main square. And he says, ‘Oh, you mean the dustup between the two women?’ I thought Diana was going to choke. The cab driver already knew about it and it had only happened about 30 minutes before. Turns out he was waiting in his cab at a cabstand just down the street and saw the whole thing. When we got back to the hotel an armored car was there picking up the deposit. As we passed the guard in the hall he asked if we were having a good day and Diana said, ‘Yes we are and my husband saw some free entertainment on the square. To which he says, ‘The catfight earlier today?’ I couldn’t believe it. He knew about it too. Wow, this is a smaller town than I thought.



In the middle of the afternoon our guide, Liam, offered us the use of Billy, our coach commander, and the coach for a trip into Ennis for some sightseeing. Since Diana and I are well rested we joined a few other very sturdy new arrivals for a ride into town.



The square was not as busy as during my first trip. Not a single person was sitting on the statue. I think it is late enough in the day that it’s respectable to be seen in a pub. Speaking of pubs, there are plenty here in this little town. About every 5th business is a pub. I guess the local populace likes to dine out! From the square I could hear some a cappella traditional Irish singing. I wondered down a small street and found two boys, about age 12, sitting on an electrical service box (below) singing two-part close harmony. They were very good and I have some video of them singing.



After returning to the hotel we met the rest of our tour and had dinner together in the hotel. There are several Pennsylvanians, some Floridians, Californians, Australians, South Carolinians, Washingtonians, New Yorkers and assorted others. Seems like a friendly group. Three sisters are traveling together, a couple with their two daughters and assorted couples and singles. It turns out that the sisters were also on the square when the fight broke out and saw it too. Small world.



After dinner it was to bed. We want to be ready for the tour tomorrow.

(c) 2004 Rod Longenberger