My Irish Homecoming - We’re back home but so many are leaving

Many friends and family members now ready to pack up and leave

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April, Colum, Sadie and a group of friends.

Photo by April Drew

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There were four in a bed and the little one said… It’s 8:20 a.m. in rainy Limerick and the Mooney family is all snuggled up in bed.

We just moved back to Ireland from New York where I worked with Irish Voice newspaper for many years. Now it is time to face realities back here. 

John is on the Internet researching best man speeches – his best friend/cousin Eoin Markham is getting married on Friday in Galway. Colum (18-months) is guzzling a cup of milk, Sadie (3-months) is very busy trying to turn over, and well, I’m on the laptop writing this.

It’s nice when it’s raining in Ireland to be wrapped up in duvet covers listening to the slush of car tires as they pass by on the wet road and know that all those rain coats I purchased in New York before leaving will be put to good use.

It’s been a busy week in the Mooney household. We’ve been traipsing around Limerick viewing houses to rent for the foreseeable future.

It’s proving a very difficult task to get an unfurnished home. It’s customary in Ireland to rent a house fully furnished. Very handy if your starting out in life, but not so useful if you have a container full of American furniture about to land in Ireland any day now.

There are only about 10 unfurnished homes in the whole of Limerick. We are talking to some more real estate agents today so will see.

It was the June bank holiday weekend here. (Monday was a day off). Following on from the beautiful weather the previous week people bought burgers and beer in the hope of throwing barbeques.

Unfortunately Limerick and Kerry were a wash out on Saturday. It was the first time it rained since our return 10 days earlier.

In Tralee, my home town, I was adamant not to let the rain deter me from my plans, so at about 10 a.m. on Saturday morning I threw on one of those recently purchased fancy rain coats, put Sadie in a rain proof stroller and walked into Tralee town from my mother’s house (only about 20 minutes).

It was nice. It was the first time since our arrival home that it felt like the old Ireland I knew, rainy and cool, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

The rest of the nation didn’t, however. Everyone I met commented about the rain.

“It’s an awful day out there isn’t it,” said a shop keeper while charging me $5 for a sandwich.

“You’re a brave woman taking that baby out in this weather,” said a disgruntled looking middle aged man as we shared a footpath.

“I was supposed to wear a dress out to dinner tonight but the fake tan will run off my legs if this rain continues so I’m going to wear the new jeans I got from Penneys,” said one of my friends.

I think we all know Irish people are a little obsessed about the rain – it dominates every conversation and is the only ice-breaker used when you first meet someone.

But what I quickly learned after a few days in Ireland is that it isn’t just the rain we are obsessed with -- it’s any kind of climate.

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