In the three years that I’ve been blogging I’ve received lovely comments and emails from people around the world who took the time to write some kind words to me. Each one is appreciated and fills my heart up. Thank you, all of you, your words mean worlds to me.
Some of the nicest notes I’ve gotten are from those of you who are not from Ireland, but through visits or learning about this place have fallen in love with our little country. It’s always amazing how much power a photograph can hold, unlocking strong emotions in those of us who feel so connected to this place and its people.
There’s a lot of love out there for our land, and I’m bowled over that even a simple photo can open up that joy and sense of belonging. In my photography I try to portray the beauty that I see in my everyday Ireland, whether it’s leaves fallen on a Dublin footpath or a misty dawn in the Tipperary countryside. It touches me deeply that some of those photos may unlock a similar sense of magic for anyone else.
Because I’m steeped in living here, I don’t quite know what it’s like to hold such a deep love for this place and to not be able to be here. I have some sense of what it feels like, the Dingle Peninsula in Kerry awakens similar emotions in me. The landscape there is full of a certain kind of magic that I haven’t experienced elsewhere in Ireland. Photos from Kerry fill me with a deep longing to go back there and fill up with that magic. I feel refreshed and at home there like nowhere else.
What I want to learn about now is what you think about Ireland. Not just those of you who love Ireland from abroad, but also those of you who live here. I want to create a post from your own words and thoughts on what it is that draws you here or keeps you here. Leave a comment or send an email, and leave a link to your own blog (or particular post) so that I can include a link when I write about it.
Looking forward to reading your thoughts and experiences!
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I love the greenery and variety around the country. I’m Irish but I lived in the UAE for the last year, and every time I visited on holidays, I was always refreshed by the sight of green things, vegetation and damp soil. I wrote about my love of forests today and while they are managed as a commercial property , you can still always find wild spaces in them.
http://auroralapetite.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/weekly-photo-challenge-big/
I love the people. People are why we came here and why we stay here. There is a special self deprecating sense of humour in Irish people, plus a great generosity and sense of caring for the others in the community. And also: I love Irish accents :)
Eadaoin, your pictures mean so much to me and I am sure others who are away from home. They often give me a yearning to go home. For me it has to be walking out your door and talking the backroads and byroads for a morning walk. Stumbling across a lush field, a farmer at work, a ruin of some sort, sheep that stare at you in defense of their little ones, the cows…I even miss seeing these guys trodding down the road and especially the stone walls. I loved going for a walk and taking an unfamiliar byroad, never knowing what you may find along the way. Meeting a neighbour and standing in at the side of the road for a quick chat and coming home refreshed and renewed. I love taking those walks when I am at home, having to drive to a park or field and walk around a track has nothing on all that !
I too love people, the landscape, the quietness of the countryside, the beauty of the coast. I love our heritage and culture, our music, the craic and banter, our love of words and humour, our generosity and willingness to help others in trouble. It’s only when you come home from holidays abroad that you appreciate the lush greenness which attracts visitors here, although I could do without the rain. Sadly there’s also things I don’t like about Ireland but that’s a subject for another day.
I love the friendly people, the wildness of the countryside, the beautiful sea, and the magic (especially the selkie magic.)
I feel so lucky to have spent the previous seven months living in Ireland, and I already miss it. It really is a special place. I loved the natural beauty– Dingle and Kerry, the Gap of Dunloe in Killarney, Slieve League in Donegal. I loved the sights of pure and honest simplicity– peaceful morning walks, a farmer in his field, a herd of sheep, the quaint tidy towns, rays of sunshine peeking through clouds. And I also adored the people. So many were charming and quirky and full of stories. In both the sights and the people, there was always a wonderful sense of history that I found incredibly intriguing.
The diversity of the landscape, the colours with seasonal changes. From the beach at Inch on a summers day to the incredible power of Torc waterfall it is a place of beauty.
I could list a thousand things about your little Island that I love! I must agree with you about the Dingle Penninsula and tell you that the Lakes of Killarney hold my heart as well.
I came upon a travel book published in 1939 called “In search of Ireland” by H.V Morton and I must share this passage from the book.
“The vanity of a beautiful woman is often pitiful because her beauty is such a short lived condition, but the beauty of a landscape is eternal. Most people who know Killarney will agree that she has every right to an eternal vanity. Nature has in this place made a paradise. Windermere and Loch Lomond are almost the suburbs of cities, but Killarney is over the hills and far away, forever lonely, forever sunk in peace.
I have no evergy to fight the beauty of Killarney”
For me, where ever I travelled in Ireland, it was the light. The magic of its location does something to the skies be it with the clouds or a pure blue day. No wonder it’s the subject of so many poems, paintings and songs.
When I do have the chance to travel in Ireland again, I will become giddy as a school girl!
Would like to attatch a photo I took in Killarney. It’s one of my favorites…Cheers!
https://picasaweb.google.com/103594810437193075333/Ireland#5799593483973490082
I love the light in Ireland–the shifting colors in the sky and over the ocean, a splash of pewter or gold that surprises you each time you turn. And of course, I love the people, their warmth and joy in the simple things like a neighborly chat or how their cows are doing. The last time I visited I was heartstruck by the beauty of the country–it far surpassed even what I had seen in picutre books. But most of all, I love the Irish imagination–the wonder and whimsy and fierce beauty in their literary and folklore traditions. Ireland, for me, is a repository of all that is possible…
While many of my friends are fleeing to adventure to far flung places, I would find that almost impossible. Despite the many challenges facing the country, I am still enthralled by our culture, literature, language and laughter. The vernacular, the social quirks all pull together an amazing sense of home, for me.
I love the quality of life here. Compared to strip mall America, sometimes it can feel like a place that time forgot (which can be both good and bad, of course). I love my little home on a hill in the countryside, with more cows than people for neighbours. I love coming around the bend at the top of the hill and seeing the sea and the mountains – a view I will never, ever get tired of for someone who grew up in the flat plains of the American midwest. I love how friendly everyone is and that the shopkeepers know me. I love that when I moved here in 1999, before the M1 was built and the main road in the country was the two-lane N1, you were more likely than not to get stuck behind a tractor on your way to Dublin. I love the way the country draws in on itself in the winter in front of turf fires, and on a warm summer day when the sun is beating down, there’s nowhere on earth I’d rather be. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t pinch myself and think, Is this really my life? Do I really get to live in this beautiful place?
oh, Éadaoin…where do I begin? Ireland has been so many things to me. I’ve been traveling there from the U.S. for 20+ years and never tire of the small town land where my great grandparents once operated a general store. That town land is where I spend most of my time when I go. I think what I love most is that somehow, it feels like home to me. Maybe it’s the people who are so welcoming and friendly and who embraced me when I was lucky enough to live there for six months. Or maybe it’s the beautiful landscape that has inspired me to take up photography. Maybe it’s that there’s quietness when you want it in the countryside and such an appreciation for nature there. Or perhaps it’s the pace of life that I’ve experienced while there – while people work very hard, they also appreciate slowing down and experiencing the beauty of nature and life happening around them. Ireland is like an old friend that I can’t wait to see and don’t want to leave once we’re together. I could go on and on!
Hope to be around Dublin on my next trip so that we can maybe have the cup of tea! xx
Too many answers to your question, Éadaoin, i will send them by email
I would love to go to Ireland someday. I’m from Texas and I’ve never even been overseas. I have found a faraway love for your country though through its music. My brother is a violist and he joined a Celtic band a few years back here it TX. The band was led by a man who was born in England but had found a true love for Irish music. I fell in love with every song as I watched my brother draw his bow across the strings of his beloved instrument. I loved learning the words to ballads and drinking songs. Just so fun!
Then I found out about the singing group Celtic Woman and they have been a favorite of mine for a long time! I loved getting to see them here in Texas last year! They were wonderful!
I really hope to get to visit Ireland someday! It seems like the most beautiful place!
Ive tried thinking how to put it into words the amazing attraction your country holds for my family. We started out by vacationing there 20 yrs. ago and have tried to return at least once a year since. Now in feb it will become our home. We have visited many places in Europe but there was just something about Ireland that stole our hearts. I can’t explain it. We are looking forward to our new adventure there and a simpler life – without all the chaos of the states. A place we where can simply walk and enjoy life – and surround ourselves with the most amazing landscapes – and a place where I can have Irish bacon every single day – :). Some think we are crazy to leave sunny Florida for a rainy climate – I can not wait – I’ve never been around as many rainbows as I have there or seen grass as green – the land and it’s people we have fallen in love with!
What I love most about living in rural Ireland, is the relaxing atmosphere, the sense of freedom, the tranquility, the esacpe from the hustle and bustle of urban life and the sense of belonging and attachment to the land. The neighbours are nice too, cows, sheep, donkeys and lots of wildlife :)
All things nice…
I love stepping off the bus on Dame Street, ready for a evening out. When I got home to Dublin after nearly a year away my heart positively spilled over when I stepped onto the path from the bus, back in my very own city with the promise of fun, music and adventure ahead. It’s the anticipation, it still gets me, and Dublin streets always seem to be teeming with people in the evenings. I also love the light in Ireland, the earlier in the morning the better.
I’m from Italy. I visit Ireland (West ireland and Dublin) the last October with my girlfriend Manuela (she visited Ireland many times and has lived in one year). I don’t know what happens to me but….i fall in love with this country.
It’s perfect to me.
The landscapes, the beatiful cliffs, boundless green areas, the sense of freedom. Some places seem unreal because are too beatiful. And the people, so kind and friendly.
I felt like i’m at home, my home. I had the desire to stay forever in Ireland and probably if i wasn’t a firefighter (this job is also my passion, i live for it) i would try to find a job here.
It’s so beatiful…places, song, people. Seems absurde but i’m sad…i miss “The Green Island”
I hope to come back very soon.