Our First Day in Ireland

Highlight of our first day in Ireland — April 3rd, 2018 — was a tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Downpatrick.  That’s Fr. Bob White, good sport that he is, in the Main Pulpit of the Main Church

The day first began with our arrival in Dublin on Tuesday, April 3rd, at 8:41 a.m..  From the windows of our tour bus we saw the green patches and pastures and sheep all along the east coast of the Emerald Isle, as we headed north to Belfast.

And then, in Downpatrick, we visited the Cathedral and the grounds where the famous St. Patrick is buried.  A group picture was taken here, and Allan and I are in it, but I don’t have it.

Our whole tour group gathered round the tomb of St. Patrick and Father Bob gave a prayer and blessing.

I was happy to have learned everyone’s names as the day progressed and I was also happy about making new friends.

Four gentlemen on the tour obliged me by stepping in to fill the four choir posts in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Downpatrick.

We found much of the history of St. Patrick, his cathedral, and his cross at this tour stop.

This particular street reminded me of many narrow European streets, in the days before motorized vehicles, not unlike streets in the USA on the eastern seaboard — like Boston.

It was enjoyable meeting others on tour including Gloria and Mark Wessbecker, friends of our friends Dick and Ruth Ertl. 

Then we witnessed more of the same scenery — pastures and patches of green land and sheep divided by short pruned shrubbery.  And so I came to put my camera away for a while until we shortly arrived at Belfast.

That evening of April 3rd our tour group got checked into the Europa Hotel.  We learned later that the Europa is one of the fanciest and most famous hotels in all of Belfast.  We were off to a good start!  From our fourth story floor, I took the above picture of the pubs across the street, which had been referred to us by Liam our tour guide/bus driver as places to check out.  He called them “snugs” — “not much larger than a confession box.”  It made us smile.

After a delicious dinner at the Europa, we hooked up to go across the street with Dick and Ruth and Mark and Gloria for a glass of wine and conversation and a concert featuring bluegrass music and bagpipe music and outstanding entertainment. 

Allan and I left at 10 p.m., before the others, because we were tired and so we headed back across the street to the Europa.

As we waited for our pedestrian light to turn green, there was a gentle rain on a calm and beautiful evening.  When our light turned green, I stepped out into the street just a step or so before Allan, and I was struck broadside by a driver that ran his red light.  I ended up spending our entire holiday in the hospitals of Belfast, with Allan staying at “our” room in the Europa, visiting me every day for the next couple weeks.  The story is written up in the paper edition of the May 2018 issue of the Gazette.  I am happy to be alive and well and recuperating at home in Victoria.  It was not an “unfortunate accident” as the Belfast police reported.  It was a criminal accident.  Bystanders offered to confirm exactly what happened.  A driver ran a red light and hit me and hurt me, an innocent visitor, and the Belfast police have refused to give up the police report.  But all is well that ends well, and it appears that I’m on the mend to continue my life and love in Victoria, Minnesota.

Email:  Sue@PrintsPublishing.com

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