My first trip to Ireland was very impressive and memorable, aside from visiting Fr. Farren who had been recuperating well from a recent major colon surgery. He looked sharp, ambulating with ease and smiled readily whenever the old time in Wah Yan was brought up, especially upon recalling Fr. Cryan’s name. I remembered the latter very vividly because of his obsession with the grass soccer pitch. It would upset him immensely if he saw someone tread on it and poor caretaker Ah Ghoo was the reluctant enforcer. Fr. Farren also remembered other Fathers well, like Toner, Kennedy, Foley, Mallin and my favorites, Moran and Sullivan.
I would have loved to stay longer to reminisce more old times, like in P.6 one time when our R.K. teacher, Mr. Hung (Tai Gung), was addressed as ‘Good Morning Madam’ at the start of his class. The deliberate aberration did not dawn on him until a few days later and poor Peter Lo got caught because he was the first boy in the front row. Naturally, Mr. Hung was such a religious and kind man; he just made the class promise not to repeat the call or he would report to Fr. Headon, the Prefect of Studies.
Interlude like this did lighten up the classes.
Time flew by quickly and I did not want to delay his belated lunch any further.
It would definitely elevate his spirit if any of my classmates can slip by Dublin and look him up whenever opportunity allows.
About a 3-hour drive westward of Dublin, Galway is a major town where one sets off to tour the cliffs of Moher, a slightly rough but pleasant boat ride and the Ring of Kerry which offered eye catching scenery boosted by a local fresh crab lunch. We missed the best visiting time here by about two months but luckily the weather managed to hold up in our favor.
While in Dublin I managed to visit her famous Guinness beer factory and tasted the beer the rich flavor of which tended to grow on my taste bud. The place was crowded with visitors who were treated for a free beer except the minors. Souvenir glasses and shirts were for sale after a tour of the manufacturing plant.
My last night in Dublin was a dinner at the Johnny Fox pub where I heard Danny Boy, a beautiful song I have yearned to hear for quite sometime. The highlight included an Irish tap dance like I saw the Riverdance performed some years ago by an Irish dance group in Vancouver.
Ireland has a lot to offer and I know I will be back.