Day 6 Experiencing the Irish Culture

 Day 6 Experiencing the Irish Culture

Immaculate Conception Church Lahinch

Well I didn't have to go far to experience the Irish culture today! I just went right next door to Sunday Mass!!

I'm sure each country has its own unique expression of culture, but surely the Irish do it so well at Mass. Fr Des was the celebrant, and he has been  unwell, but managed to say Mass today. I got caught by a couple of things today - the first was that every so often, Fr Des and the congregation would just break into the Irish language....  the second was the collection!! I've been spoiled by attending Mass at St Joseph's convent in South Perth at home, and the good Sisters there don't take up a collection!!! And these days, I hardly have any cash in my purse! I think I'll have to rethink that! The church was nearly three quarters full, so it obviously is still relevant in some parts of Ireland. 

The relics of St Bernadette are doing a tour of Ireland, and they are going to be in Ennis Cathedral in the next few days, so Fr Des was full of that. Lourdes is very big over here, as I suppose it is so accessible, so Fr Des was saying that the relics give people who can't go to Lourdes the opportunity to experience it without the travel! Once again, that is part of the Irish culture. And we sang lots of Mary songs at Mass - the last one I think was Our Lady Queen of Knock.

So after all that, I headed straight for the Promenade and the beach. The tide has been in each morning, and the Atlantic is strangely quiet. I'm hanging out for the Wild Atlantic!!

High tide at Lahinch

Lahinch Beach

The next stop was obviously for a coffee!!! Last time I was here, I think I sampled every coffee shop in town, but Val's was one of my favourites. The owner is also an artist and last time I bought one of her paintings of Lahinch, which sits proudly on my piano at home.  It was a lovely coffee as usual, and Val came over and had a little chat and welcomed me back. I feel like a local these days.... Sadly Lahinch is awash with tourists this weekend. It seems that if the sun comes out in Ireland, they all pour over to the West Coast. I'm hoping tomorrow it all calms down a bit. 

Val's coffee shop

So, what to do this afternoon??

I have to admit I'm still feeling a bit weary after the big journey over and adjusting to the different time zones etc, so I didn't want to go too far today...

So I chose Ennis as my destination. I was too early to visit the relics (!!) but I actually wanted to pick up a few things and Ennis is like the Capital City of County Clare, and they have a bigger selection of shops.

Lahinch to Ennis

I chose to go the back way, which goes past the Shannon's house and ends up in Inagh, thus avoiding all the traffic in both Lahinch itself and Ennistymon. It's amazing how busy the roads were today.

I had googled the car parks and found one that was within walking distance of the town, and took me past the Cathedral. So, it must have been meant to be, after all the talk about relics this morning. The Cathedral is named after Sts Peter and Paul - which is a natural connection for me, as I taught for so many years at St Paul's in Mt Lawley.

Ennis Cathedral

Ennis Cathedral

It was lovely and simple inside...

Ennis Cathedral inside

But the thing that caught my eye was the sculpture of the hands outside - very simple but very beautiful...

Sculpture of the hands

Sculpture of the hands, with explanations.

Next on the agenda was to go into the town. It was actually a bit disappointing, as apart from being Sunday, they were actually laying new bricks on the pedestrian mall and it was very much a work in progress.

However I found the Dunnes store, which is a combination of Myers and Woolies. 

Dunnes Store in Ennis

I found some more hangers for my bedroom, which were in a bit of short supply, and I found some cabbage to put in my Chow Mein, which I will cook during the week. But I couldn't find a little tin of Keen's Curry Powder which I usually add to give it a little spice. I guess each country uses different things, so we just make do and go with the flow.

Tonight I am going to meet the Shannon family for dinner at the Atlantic Hotel, which will be lovely. Hopefully can share a pic or two of that in tomorrow's post.

So that was my exciting day, being immersed in the Irish culture  - and loving it!!!