Thursday, 23rd


August 2018


East Cork


Business Summer Time, When the Living is Easy – Birthday Perspectives by DR ROSARII GRIFFIN


Introduction It’s been a wonderful summer weather wise. We definitely cannot complain. The Atlan- tic Costa del Cork. This year, it was easy to keep kids occupied with trips to the beach, walks without raincoats and planned BBQ’s without the threat


of


rain for once. As it hap- pens, my birthday falls mid-August when most people are on holidays. So, when I was going through school, I had no school friends over to celebrate as everyone would be away on hol- idays, or uncontactable in those days. So birth- days were celebrated with just my family and maybe a friend or two if they lived nearby. As a school kid, it was the downside to having a summer birthday: no homework off, no spe- cial day at school, no class party. However, the upside (in later years) is that it is usually a private affair. The day comes and goes without most people realising, apart from immediate family and a few close friends. So this year, I decided to celebrate the day in Kenmare for a change.


Trip to Kenmare Predictably enough


this particular summer, the day started off sun- ny and bright. Driving westward, my partner and I first headed for Bantry. The unspoiled beauty of Bantry is real- ly breath-taking. Whilst there, we grabbed lunch in a small cosy


fish restaurant that you might miss if you blinked. There was only one door from the street leading up a nar- row stairwell into a sin- gle square dining room. The tiny eating quar- ters belies the fact that this little gem has won numerous


awards for


its reasonably priced, locally sourced, exqui- site fresh fish dishes. Be- ing fish lovers, we were in our element. This was indeed the perfect birthday lunch and start to a leisurely day- long celebration.


Bantry As we are rarely in


Bantry, we decided to explore a little bit. The history of Bantry is fascinating, not least because of the statue erected to Theobald Wolfe Tone in the mid- dle of the town square. Wolfe Tone, as he was better known, hailed from Bantry and was a leading Irish Revolu- tionary figure, and one of the founding fathers of the United Irishmen. He is widely regarded as the founding father of Irish Republicanism, and was the leader of the 1798 Irish Rebel- lion against the Crown. Unfortunately, he was captured in Letterk- enny in 1798 and died in captivity in Dublin under disputed circum- stances at the youthful age of thirty five.


Church Opposite Wolfe Tone


Square, we also visited St Brendan’s Church. This is a Protestant Church with Goth- ic architecture, lovely stained glass windows, and whose


Apparently, Richard White, an Anglo-Irish solider and Peer, was awarded the


title 1st


Earl of Bantry for his ‘patriotic’ duty in leading forces (loyal to the Crown) against Wolfe Tone. White was awarded a peerage for warding off the French invasion at Bantry Bay of 1796, a fleet that ar- rived at the behest of Wolfe Tone to assist in the Irish rebellion. The French fleet failed to land at Bantry Bay due to bad weather, poor seamanship and inde- cisive leadership. This caused Wolfe Tone to remark that ‘England had the luckiest escape since the Armada’. I found it ironic how both Anglo-Irish men were commemorated within yards of each other, in the square in Bantry, al- beit for taking opposing sides in the war of inde- pendence and Catholic emancipation. Needless to say, Wolfe Tone was given the greater prom- inence for his political legacy, even if the archi- tectural legacy (in terms of Bantry House and Gardens, for instance), is that of the Earls and Richard White.


Glengarriff Leaving beautiful


walls are


lined with historically interesting memorial plaques commemorat- ing Lord Bantry and his offspring - Earls and Barons of Bantry.


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Bantry, the windy roads took us over the Healy Pass, with its rugged beauty, into Ballylickey and onto Glengarriff. It was a very picturesque drive. We stopped off in a few beauty spots to take some pictures, although it is virtual- ly impossible to cap- ture the beauty of the Cork-Kerry border re- gion. Glengarriff itself is a small town with about 800 residents. The ‘Eccles Hotel’ is ideally located over- looking Glengarriff Bay, which is a north- ern enclave of Bantry


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Bay. Here we stopped for some light refresh- ments - given its idyllic spot overlooking Gar- nish Island where a few small sailing boats were moored. From here, we passed through Glen- garriff forest which had been carefully devel- oped for walkers, but we decided to skip tak- ing a walk in favour of continuing towards our destination, Kenmare. So we bade farewell to Glengarriff, which inci- dentally, was Maureen O’Hara – the famous film actress’s – final home where


she and


her husband spent her last few years of her life.


Sheen Falls Lodge En route into Ken-


mare, we spied ‘The Sheen Falls Lodge’. I had never been to this Hotel despite hearing lots about it from time to time. Curiosity got the better of me, and I suggested we should stop there for afternoon tea. The suggestion got a positive recep- tion, so we drove in a long driveway onto the grounds of the hotel. Although the hotel has been built relatively re- cently, it is built on an old estate dating back as far as 1764 which was part of the estate of the Marquess of Lans- downe. In any case, the original ‘Sheen Lodge’, a fishing lodge, passed through several gener- ations of peers, before being finally bought by a Danish entrepre- neur in 1988 who made it


into a 5 star hotel.


Hence, ‘The Sheen Fall Lodge’ opened for business in 1991. In 2013, the lodge was bought out by an in- ternational hotel group and retained as a 5 star hotel. One of its claims to fame was that it had a Michelin Star Res- taurant (1993-98)


led


by Fergus Moore. We stopped off for after- noon tea here. There were plenty of places to relax: the Library, the Terrace, the bar area, or any of the multiple lounge areas. It was very pleasant indeed. Its defining feature had to be its location, over- looking the falls and running stream, and the lake surrounded by woodland and rolling hills. Although the in- terior was beginning to look a bit jaded, it still attracted lots of Amer- ican tourists. It was in- deed located on a very beautiful spot. Having toured the building and enjoyed the scenery and tea, it was time for us to move on to our final destination: Kenmare.


Kenmare The ride from Sheen


Falls Lodge into Ken- mare took mere min- utes. The town was bustling with people. I texted a friend who hailed from Kenmare to enquire where we might dine. She suggested: Tom Crean’s Pub and Restaurant, Mulcahy’s Restaurant, The Lime Tree, and of course, The Park Hotel. After a trip around a very busy town, full of interesting shops, especially shops that supported local craftsmanship and art- ists and artisans of all descriptions, we noted where all the recom- mended restaurants were. However, we de- cided that we would first head to Francis Brennan’s Park Hotel. Sure enough, when we walked up the driveway and into the Hotel’s re- ception area, the first thing we saw was Mr Brennan himself, buzz- ing around, ensuring all the guests were happy and content. We opted to take a drink outside, and take in the beauti-


ful views where the ho- tel was situated. Again, it overlooked lakes and trees. We were able to take a nice walk along the grounds through a tree grove and admire the hotel’s facade from a distance. Meanwhile, my phone was buzzing in my pocket with text messages from family and friends wishing me a happy birthday. I took a selfie picture from this spot, and forwarded it on WhatsApp, reassur- ing friends and family that I was having a love- ly relaxing birthday.


The Park Hotel As the Park had a


nice bistro type restau- rant, and because we were


both tired and


peckish by now, we opt- ed to stay and eat here. We avoided the fine dining, as it was far too formal, nor did we feel like a five course meal. In any case the Ter- race menu looked just as good, and probably from the same kitch- en, so we ordered from that. While the starter was exquisite, the main course was somewhat surprisingly disappoint- ing. Nothing to write home about! But in any case, it was edible and filling. We decided in advance not to say an- ything about my birth- day so as not to make a fuss, but rather enjoy a nice quiet meal in peace. No surprise cake with candles. No cho- rus of ‘Happy Birthday to you’, or ‘For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow’. No, just simple chink- ing of wine glasses and a wish for good health and happiness. Nothing elaborate, extravagant or overly priced, opting rather for a simple, pos- itive and pleasant expe- rience.


Border By now, dusk had ar-


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rived heralding the fall of darkness. It was time to make our way back over the Kerry border, back into County Cork. Although the day was beautiful, it was also tiring. I was presented with numerous birthday surprise gifts along the way, including very nice jewellery and other ex- tremely thoughtful gifts. My children had rung me earlier in the day to sing me ‘happy birth- day’, and Facebook was alight with good wish- es from friends, family and acquaintance both near and far. Although I am not a big Facebook fan, it is still nice to be remembered on what I consider to be my spe- cial day. And how bet- ter to spend one’s birth- day, but in the company of my beloved partner, and to be remembered by the love of family, friends, and significant others (both near and far). What more is there to ask for in life, but good health, a meas- ure of happiness and the ability to give back if at all possible. And, within the Irish context, good weather to top it all off. I’ll doff my hat to that. Now that I’m a year older, I’m not sure if I’m any wiser, but I am certainly a whole lot happier. Long may that last.


Profile: Rosarii is


a lecturer and re- searcher at UCC. She is also a Gov- ernor of UCC and Fellow of the Lon- don Royal Society of Arts. All opinions expressed here are entirely her own. She can be reached on info@eastcorkjour- nal.ie or @rosarii_ griffin. Copyright Rosarii Griffin.


info@eastcorkjournal.ie


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