Out west the beauty of the landscape would make you weep, but it’s the people and the chat that would warm your heart. It’s summer in Kerry and there is no shortage of talk. From morning until night we are discussing the situation in Gaza, the decline of the Labour party and the travails of Johnser.
Somewhere in Dingle, girls are eating three flavours of ice cream and coffee is being brewed “at exactly the correct temperature”. A farmer fixes his gutters and three men are standing at the edge of the turquoise Atlantic wondering about the state of the world. Maybe Putin will blockade the Kerrygold butter next? They won’t touch the baby formula though, one re-assures the other. On a tartan rug they rail against the travesty that is Garth Brooks and whether or not the GAA has lost the run of itself entirely.
The hot tea served from a flask on these beaches is of a very high quality, we Irish like our tea bursting with flavour. Later when we gobble our Kerry lamb or monkfish on a risotto of roasted tomatoes, we will still be sharing stories about family, the economy, or how we love those Scandanavian dramas on Netflix.
Along the coast, christened recently the Wild Atlantic Way, the sun is setting and the swimming rituals continue. There is a buzz of conversation from assorted picnics and shadowy squeals of joy coming from the shoreline. The elders have comfortable chairs. The younger generations wear wet-suits so they can stay immersed in the waves for longer.
It’s getting late and still we are talking away for Ireland. It’s what we do around a fire on a winter’s evening but tonight we are under the stars, barely believing the “real summer” that we are having this year, honing a true art form; it’s called friendship.
Browse more photos from my home in Ireland here
Beautiful!
Many thanks crazy lady:~))
Beautiful. My husband was once in Kerry for some weeks for work and he told me I'd love it but I've never been – yet!
You will have to come Marigold it is a special place which they call the Kingdom over there…….
I know the Kingdom….and I dream of it Catherine. Love, Susie
Hi Susie, I love the way Kerry people call it that! They are so right. x
What a wonderful place to walk among friends.
There's something special about it Jean, although the Copper Coast is a special place too, and a more top secret one…shhhh!!
Catherine you remind me of my days growing up and my extended family and neighbors would gather and talk and talk…I miss those gatherings as here in the US most folks do not gather much or talk. Although in my neighborhood we do have a few neighbors who gather with us and like to chat until the mosquitoes come out. Those red flowers in the top shot are gorgeous. What are they?
Thank you dear Donna! Do you mean the montbretia? From the crocosmia family but totally naturalised in parts of Ireland especially the south west. It's one of those typical signs of an Irish summer. Now that I am home I miss my lovely pals too……
During our trip, we spent a day on Inch Strand Beach, soaking in the waves and the crowds. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures of one of the most beautiful places on earth!
Jill, thank you! I am so glad you shared in the Inch experience. I sometimes think it's like another plant there….so much flat open space…..
Your writing and photography puts me right THERE! Thank you!
Maybe you will be there some day Robin!! You have to come back and travel the Wild Atlantic Way? Yes?
What a beautiful post. I am going to have to follow………
Lovely to meet you , and you are very welcome here. Thank you!
So beautiful…yes!
Thank you Marcie, I am often thinking of you and your own quest for beauty…..think you would love it here too:~)
Utterly beautiful, the lanes, the beaches, how perfectly you've captured it.
Thank you Wee Lass!! It is such a beautiful place…..when the sun shines!!!
THANK you, Catherine, for letting me tag along with you
down these beautiful beaches and see the world through
your lovely, storytelling eyes.
What an honor,
Jennifer
Thanks Jennifer. Loved your company:~))
We Irish in Californa love our teas as well.
Being French and Irish descendent have yet to make a holiday in Ireland yet dream of it so very often.
Your photos are just so beautiful. There like a movie picture backdrop 🙂
Xx
Dore
Thank you Dore……you will have to come and travel along the Wild Atlantic Way……or to the off the beaten track landscape that is the Copper Coast in County Waterford….