We landed in Ireland a few weeks ago to attend our nephew's wedding in Kenmare in County Kerry. My wife and I usually return home from America every year in July and spend at least a few months in Ireland. It's very interesting to be here a little earlier this year. Summer is not in full swing yet, because spring has overstayed its welcome. The streets of Kilkenny are not thick with tourists yet, apart from a few early birds, but they will be arriving in droves before long. But the crowds of foreigners are already swelling in County Kerry, and the Ring of Kerry is overflowing with large tourist buses day and night. We spent three days in Kenmare, because nowadays, that's the amount of time it takes to celebrate a wedding and the events associated with it.

The Day Before

An AirBnb was booked for six of us for the event. We had a four-bedroom house, with a kitchen, living room and a couple of bathrooms. It was perfect for us in terms of space, and the wedding locations were not far from us by car. We met up first and had a meal at Davitt's in the center of Kenmare. Then, we went to our house to unpack and rest. After a while, we got an invitation to dinner from the engaged couple because some people couldn't come due to an emergency. Usually, a small group - including the couple and their parents - have a meal the night before the wedding, and we did not expect that invitation at all. Two attended the meal, but the rest of us were full to the gills and tired, and we stayed at home.

Wedding Day

After a morning of delicious rest and a nice lunch, we had a beautiful journey in the car from Kenmare to St. Patrick's Church in Tathuile, near Sneem on the Iveragh peninsula, the largest peninsula in the south-west of Ireland. We were on the Wild Atlantic Way near the sea and had a great view of the sea and the mountains. The family of the woman to be married had ties to the area and to the church itself (her mother and sister's wedding were celebrated there), and the couple were happy to adhere to that family custom. It was a beautiful rural location, and the church was full to capacity during the wedding ceremony. We had a wonderful priest with a great sense of humour, who fostered a relaxed atmosphere in all of us. The newlyweds and their families looked great as they were all beautifully dressed for the occasion, and lots of photos were taken during and after the ceremony.

We had a short break before the wedding reception, which started at four o'clock at Dromquinna Manor in Kenmare. The sun was shining on the reception area outside and behind the manor, and drinks and nibbles were available - including caviar on crackers. There was a neat lawn that sloped from the manor down to the shore, and we had a beautiful southerly view of the Beara peninsula. We (perhaps 120 people) went into the dining room around five o'clock for dinner. Each table was served a hearty platter, with all manner of food on offer – including an amazing selection of cheeses and vegetables, prosciutto, olives and tapenade. The speeches were given at that time, before the main course, and were funny and serious at the same time. In particular, the bride and groom gave heartfelt praise to their parents and expressed their love for each other.

We had two choices for the main course: halibut or steak. I love fish, and the halibut was excellent. My wife had steak, and she gave me some. It melted in my mouth and was as delicious as any steak I've ever had! Red and white wine was also available during the meal.

Then we had sumptuous desserts – a big bowl on each table of all different desserts. We were going from table to table to get a taste of them all and to have a chat with the people who were sitting at the other tables in the dining room.

The music started around nine o'clock and the band provided a musical feast. They played all genres of music and we danced without restraint until we were spent – which happened to us who were a bit older earlier. All the same, it was after two in the morning when we went to bed. As for the newly married couple and others of the same age, it was close to five o'clock in the morning when they called it quits!

The Third Day

We had a beer garden reserved for us on the third day, starting at four o'clock and ending at nine. A great barbecue was organized for us with snacks, burgers, chicken and chips available.

A first class singer performed after we saw the Munster hurling final between Limerick and Clare on TV. It was a great game - in the first half anyway, and the teams were level at the start of the second half. But as usual for Limerick, they went ahead in the second half and Clare had little chance to catch up with them again.

We were all tired and exhausted by 9 pm. It was a wonderful experience for us to be guests attending this important event with the important people in our lives.

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My father Peter Barrett passed away two weeks before Christmas, four years ago. The Christmas season was a special time for him, in terms of faith and tradition. He had wonderful Christmases growing up in Irrras in County Mayo - all magical occasions. Fortunately, he put pen to paper and shared with us his own memories of Christmases during his childhood days. Here is a piece he wrote in which he shared some of his memories with us:

When I think now of Christmases long ago, the memories come to me slowly, vaguely, at first, but after spending a little time fishing in the deep lake of the years, the same memories come back to me then in a clear, accurate outpouring. A flood of memories that makes the soul dance on a slab inside my heart.

Come with me, then, back to the end of the twenties, to the beautiful land of my youth, to Iorras na n'Iontas. The memories that swim to me now, on that wave of memories, are of bare, desolate fields. On the screen of memory, I see bright candles up through black, brittle clay of Iorras, as we used to spend our pre-Christmas days as boys chasing the wren - and I have to admit now, that we used to find not many wrens in those same desolate fields. I used to think that the wrens of Iorras would go into hiding at that time of year, just in case! Other birds used to be quite plentiful, starlings, sparrows, cranes, and the like. Rarely, then, did we manage to find a wren, in time for Stephen's Day, and in the end, we had no choice but to go out with a lantern, on Christmas Day night, to catch a sleepy old sparrow, in the eaves.

Sparrow or Wren?

Is soiléir a thagann cuimhní an ullmhúcháin do Lá an Dreoilín chugam anois. Aighthe fidil á ndéanamh agus á ndathú. Bataí, boscaí, agus buataisí á gcuardach. Amhráin, ranna, agus damhsaí á gcleachtadh. Ó, sea, agus gúnaí, hataí, agus bibeanna ár ndeirfiúracha, á dtógáil ar iasacht, do Lá draíochta an Dreoilín!

Bhímis ar ar gcois le moiche na maidine, agus bóthar buailte againn sula mbeadh deis ag gasúir eile na háite, airgead, uibheacha, nó ollmhaitheas, na comharsanachta a bhailiú chucu fhéin, mar chreach Nollaigiúil. Bhíodh tús bóthair againne orthu, agus bhímis sásta i gcónaí lenár gcreach, i ndeireadh an lae thiar. Nach ait an scéal é, ach i scannán sin an Dreoilín, ní airímse aon fhuacht, nó sioc, nó sneachta, riamh. Boige, úire, agus Earrachas, a shníonn chugam isteach ar thonn na cuimhne anois, i gcás an Dreoilín chéanna sin.

But let's drop it as a story, and let's return to those Christmases of memory, Christmases of dreams, because it was on them that I drew the story, in the first place. When I think of them now, I think first of the Christmas Season. That season, for us, began on the first day of December. On that day, we started with an old Irish custom, the ‘Áibhéanna’ custom. We believed that the one who said five thousand "Aibhés" between then and Christmas Day would get his wish. We were saying them everywhere, at school, at home, on the road and travel, yes, and we would give that wish as a gift to Mom, on Christmas Eve, when she was tired, exhausted, after buying and dressing the Christmas for us.

Memories returning

Other memories that come to me now are:-

•  The Great Christmas Fair in Belmullet on the 15th of December.

•  Margadh Mór na Nollag, ar an Satharn roimh Nollaig, ’chuile bhliain.

•  The Big Fire of Christmas, it was the big fire that was lit on Christmas Eve.

•  Christmas cakes, the cakes that Mom used to bake and cook for Christmas, cakes that contained raisins, spices, and other nice things, to lift our hearts, in the blessed season of Christmas.

•  The heat of the kitchen, decorations, charity, and above all, the big colored Christmas candle.

•  Us children also had another little habit in Iorras, at that time. We would get small tin boxes, and we would clean and wash them, then Mum would give us a small bit of dough from her big Christmas cake, and we would bake those bits for ourselves in the oven. That way, we used to have our own little Christmas cakes!

Merry Christmas to all our Readers!!

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