Being back in Ireland I always feel as though I'm visiting my previous self. Of course, in some ways our past selves are always with us. I'm still a twelve year old with braces, a film student in love with screwball comedies, a newly married twenty-eight-year-old, and a thirty-seven-year-old who landed her first book deal.
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–particularly Dublin - I always feel as though I'm visiting my previous self. It's an interesting feeling. Every version of ourselves is still with us, every day, in some way, of course. I'm still a twelve-year-old with braces, a film student in love with screwball comedies, a newly married person of twenty-eight, and the thirty-seven-year-old who landed her first book deal.
But in Dublin it's different. I almost feel as if I could catch sight of my former self ambling past on Dame Street wearing Levis and Doc Martens, and with a lion's mane of wavy hair. As though the touch of my soles on Dublin city streets year after year has solidified various ghost versions of myself. It beams the visions back to me as I round the corner onto Grafton Street, stand on the cobblestones in the Trinity College grounds, or when the light catches my eyes at certain magic angles while waiting to flag down a bus.
When people talk about love at first sight usually they mean with a person, but I had that with Dublin. Even when it drove me crazy in the worst ways, I never stopped loving it too.
I first landed in Dublin in 1990. Then I came back and came back and came back and stayed for years. Left for Canada but came back to Dublin to visit. Came back, came back, came back.
Every time it knows me. It never forgets. We have some special thing going, Dublin and me. I've written about it on the
blog before and I've written about it in the book closest to my heart. I hope someday you'll get to read it. In the meantime, here are some of the things I saw while in Ireland this August.
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Moody sky on Dame Street, Dublin
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Dun Laoghaire pier, Saturday evening, County Dublin
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Dun Laoghaire pier, County Dublin
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GPO, O'Connell Street, Dublin
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Grafton Street, Dublin
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Kilkenny Castle grounds, August 24
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Me in the middle of charming pedestrian Kieran Street, Kilkenny
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Picturesque downtown Kilkenny
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Lovely Kilkenny, by the river
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Homemade soup from the tea room in Kilkenny castle
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If you go to Kilkenny castle don't miss the tea room - the dessert counter is pure amazing.
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Love that someone gave Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott a rose! Harry Street, Dublin
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Muckross House, Killarney National park
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In front of the Hobbit-themed pub, downtown Killarney, bundled up for the rain
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Stunning Killarney National park in the rain and mist
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Downtown Killarney
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Pint of Killarney in Killarney
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This was the scene in Henry Street, Dublin last week. So sad to see all of the Republic of Ireland's HMV stores closing. Closest one you can find is now in Belfast, the sole HMV left on the island.
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Inch Beach, Kerry. Wild weather day. Could hardly turn to face the water because of the sand gusting into your mouth. Stunning beach. Saw it once back in 98 in the sun and was in awe. But this wasn't the right day for it. Having said that, was impressed with the kite surfers out there, flipping into the air and flying.
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Torc waterfall, Killarney National park
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Tipperary Bridge
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Happy to get some of our dirty clothes out of our suitcases and onto the line at my mother-in-law's house
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The place I seriously started writing - my in-law's roomy back garden shed where we lived for several months before leaving for Canada. The location also figures largely in my YA currently out on submission.
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Stray cat living in my mother in law's backyard we were all feeding. It boldly tried to get into the house one day and after being chased out, went back to calmly basking in the Irish sun.
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Cabinteely Park, County Dublin |
