A Taste of Ireland

Not everyone could be in Moneygall or College Green to see Obama

I was in Out Patients most of the day with my 17-year-old son who broke his arm falling off a horse six weeks ago.

There were over 100 people waiting for reviews of broken bones; children, seniors and disabled, all called for 1pm.

That makes no sense, the place was crazy.

Child abuse scandals weigh heavy on parents minds around Holy Communion celebrations

It was first Holy Communion Day on Saturday. Bouncy castles popped up in every other garden, people came on the radio complaining about the amount of money thrown around, that the only people not affected by the recession were eight-year-old children who would pocket hundreds of euro. Fifty would be standard in a card from a family member or close friend. Then there is the outfit and new clothes for the rest of the family, caterers or a hotel, drink..etc etc etc…

Little girls first Holy Communion outfits (dress, shoes, bag, veil, tiara, umbrella) can run into hundreds. Some schools have insisted on school uniform to stop the competition and keep the focus on the ceremony, which is a good idea. But it is also good for a child to have a day that is about them. They are special, maybe spoilt, but they have a clear signal from their family and community that they are cherished, and that is hugely important for a child.

The joviality of the weekend was blown away by the story emerging of child abuse in the area. Snippets of ghastly information filtered through over a couple of days. Anyone in authority was tight lipped and kept a stony cold silence, terrified to invade privacy or make false accusations.

The Burren in bloom - hen party and good friends in the beauty of Clare's countryside

I was at a hen weekend, the bride’s sister had originally planned that we rented a cottage in the Doonbeg five-star resort, but reality and the recession bit and everything slowly down-scaled to a house borrowed off her cousin in Carron, County Clare.

There was a bit of initiative needed to make up for the tight budget and we started with a treasure hunt across the Burren, counting gates and searching in graveyards for clues. On our quest we visited the famous dolmen at Poulnabroune and Caherconnell Stone ring fort. The area is heaving with fascinating stone-age archaeological sites.

It was a great ice breaker as we didn’t all know each other and fun too with extra points for number of different animals photographed along the way. There was a costume designer on my team and it was good to hear that the film industry seems to be thriving in the barren economic pastures. Her current project is for the RTE web series ‘Storyland’ – a competition for new drama. The mockumentary she is working on ‘The Outlaw Concy Ryan’, filmed in Limerick, is through to the next stage and will raise a smile. (www.rte.ie/storyland )

Cuckoo weekend of music, arts and craic in the village of Kinvara, Galway

It was the Cuckoo weekend, The Fleadh na gCuach, music and arts festival. (www.kinvara.com)

We caught a few sessions, Stillwater blues in Flatelys, some trad in the back room in Tullys and set dancing at the Pier head.

The new café was open and we got our first spin this year in the boat, a timber curach my husband finished restoring last year.