About Me
About Me
I’m the author of Jaywalking with the Irish (2004), Journey into the Heart (2007), and Ireland Unhinged (forthcoming). And now this blog. Its story is partly our own, and so are its goals — to make sense of a mercurial land and have some sport. In 2000 my family left our Connecticut home in the U.S. for a supposedly brief sabbatical to the ancestral homeland. But here we are still.
We are looking forward to meeting you.
David.. Loved the book Jaywalking with the Irish. It was a gift from a close friend, Padraig Fleming of Courtmacsherry. I assume he realized there was a chapter about the lifeboat. You mentioned his 2 brothers in the book (Noel and Billy).. He has a third brother, Michael, who owns “Flemings”.. A restaurant just outside Cork City.
We visit Courtmac each summer… my son tended bar one summer at The Pier House (living over the bar with John Young and family).
My one question, did you return to Ireland? My husband and I are thinking of retiring to Clon. Would love to hear your “final” decision. Your internal debate resonnated with us.
Dear Julie,
What a perfect message in terms of inaugurating this new blog, Ireland Unhinged, as it ticks perhaps the heart of my by no means universal knowledge and passions about Ireland – Courtmachsherry in West Cork, and where do we go from here (would anyone in right mind move to Ireland at this point?), my faith in Ireland. Suppose that’s three, not two.
As to the personal issue, we moved back to Cork pretty quick after the isolation of a northwest Connecticut winter in 2003-2004, and in those more optimistic times immediately began looking for a bolthole in — where else but Courtmacsherry? — because we love West Cork and Courtmac in particular. The Fleming brothers are such wild eccentrics, such defiant originals, they caught my spirit from the first — head spinners, inquisitioners, welcoming truly though in that special place that is Courtmac. We have been a couple of times to brother Michael Fleming’s delightful restaurant in its secret nook in Cork City –he’s a charmer and fine chef.
My new book out in the Fall from Council Oak Books, Ireland Unhinged, deals a good little with our search to find a perfect getaway in Courtmacsherry, but then banging our collective family’s head on the realization that the most beautiful parts of West Cork had been priced through the roof, if any cottage for sale for a fortune had a roof; so we bought a dreamy cottage on a salmon river in West Waterford.
BUT the drastic collapse of the mad Irish bubble, in the midst of a lot of newfound struggle, has sparked some good things for all — the country has reverted with almost chortling irony to its former “normal” — and also for someone in your situation. Property values have dropped by at least a third and the untouchable-to-ordinary-people places like coastal West Cork — and Clonakility which I also love — are now far more affordable and no doubt will thrive again with a new influx of all the positive-spirited people who have added resilience to those wonderful towns. My advice: If you can do it (and have self support) at least try it. When you have the right fit in the right place in Ireland, life is curious and when simple rich.
Hi Kevin,
We are hoping you will love your time in our cottage on Ballyduff on the Blackwater, and especially the family reunion in Capoquin. Your relatives’ Central Bar there is I think a historic beaut. Thanks for the well wishes,
David
Thanks so much for the advice/update David. I’m relieved to learn you and your family returned to a home which had obviously captured your heart (no home being perfect).
Best of luck to you and your family. We hope to be in Courtmac this fall. If you went to the Pier House the summer of 2007, the tall, thin red head behind the bar was my son.
I wish you every success and will try to keep up with your blog. Perhaps I’ll wish you limited success as West Cork (and certainly Courtmac) is a well kept secret from America. If you need any pictures, let me know. My husband got some lovely shots of West Cork last summer.
Hi David,
I have just finished reading Jaywalking with the Irish. Eager to know the next chapter in your book of life, and with a bit of googling, I found this site and am happy to read you still live in Cork.
I grew up in Cork, but six years ago, we dragged our three kids halfway round the world, to a new life in Sydney, Australia. They were three months, five and eight at the time. I can completely relate to your guilts, comparing the kids old life to new. I still feel guilty at times like Christmas, birthdays or any family gathering really that our kids miss out on.
I loved the book and it stirred many emotions.When I first met my husband, The Corner House pub was our local, I lived on Wellington Road at the time. And Pa Johnsons pub on Devonshire St is owned by my mothers first cousin Barry Johnson and one of those three tenors was most likely my uncle Hugh Moynihan (red haired guy).
Good luck with the next book.
Aoife
Hello Aoife,
Thank you for your warm comments about JAYWALKING WITH THE IRISH. I am glad it resonated, and I feel like we almost know each other with all those places and people we have in common!
Pa Johnsons got smashed down in the name of progress and rebuilt as what looks like an airport bar, alas. Still lovely music in the Corner House.
And still, it is true, all those family issues when moving so very far from home. More of these themes are explored in my next book, IRELAND UNHINGED, due out in about six months.
Warm wishes,
David
Yes David, I agree Pa’s is not what it was. A lot of its character went with the bulldozer, though I have only been in once while on a visit home. It’s many a night we spent in the old Pa’s, dancing on the seats, especially on the Jazz Weekend Bank Holiday Mondays (that was practically an all day affair with the only drink soakage being Barry’s toasted cheese and onion sandwiches or a bag of Taytos), listening to my own father and his band. The place used to be hopping! Happy days!
Aoife
Well, I have just set down “Jaywalking” as the northern Saskatchewan, Canadian sky opened with rain, hail, wind and gunfire thunder and thought I’d leave my blackfly sanctuary screened porch to come in the house and risk electrocution to research you a bit more on the Internet.
Like the others posting before me, I got to wondering what your family ended up doing in the years since you published the book.
I have declared that I will be living and working in Ireland by/in my 40th year on the planet. I declared this during a long dark, sun-starved northern winter after doing some soul searching around goals that I have not yet made tracks on. The Ireland dream has been once since I traced maps with my finger tips in an atlas as a child.
I did familial research over the winter too and some distant cousin has even restored the original home in Rathkeale, Limerick. It would be amazing to set foot in the country though I am now a bit worried about opportunities to stay on since the Celtic Tiger took a beating.
I have only four fur kids to think about moving and unlike those of you who relocated children, the move itself would be the only real stressor for me as I think I have to go through London for vet health checks before being allowed into Ireland. Ug!
It’s overwhelming to consider doing all on my own and yet I know I’ll kick myself eternally if I don’t give it a shot.
Living where I do, where services are few let alone culture and entertainment activities, ordering things through the mail is a treat! I looked up books on Ireland over the winter and settled on yours (okay okay … and U2 by U2 because they are my favourite band of all time) and it was a great read! I may go straight to ordering Ireland Unhinged from this post.
So then, as of the 10th of August, I will have two years to get my plans in order to make good on my declaration and should I figure a way to do it, I might just come knocking on your door to say hello and thank-you for the great reading that I suspect will sustain the dream during the time between now and then!
Shanny
Dear David,
I appreciated talking to you today on WATR. Hope to meet you some day.
Tom
Thanks Tom. I enjoyed it took and the Waterbury Gaels and friends of the Gaels were out in force for the following night at the Local Public House, urged on by you.
Hello David,
My husband and I have retired full time and permanently into Allihies parish at the end of the Beara peninsula in Co. Cork, having moved from North Granby Connecticut in 2008. Having been in Ireland every year since the late 90′s, looking and trying out various locations via the self catering cottage bit, we set our sights on either Commemara or west Cork. Happily our plan to lease long term has played out well with a grand extended cottage overlooking the Atlantic, the Skelligs, and Co. Kerry. We pet-passported our dogs while still in the states, and treated ourselves to a transatlantic crossing on the QM2 which accommodates dogs on the 12th deck. We were free to go upon disembarking in Southampton and onward to Ireland. Our one and only trip back to Connecticut since 2008 was to oversee the sale of our house and the loading of the 40 foot container which happily arrived in Cork with all our belongings safely inside. We are definitely home here now.
Your book, Jaywalking with the Irish, was one I picked up at Shannon years ago, waiting for the air”bus” trip back to Boston. I often wondered if you and the family made the move to Cork stick, and occasionally was tempted to check out the Cornwall CT directory to ask you the question directly. But as I did not want to hear if you had returned to the states, I never tried. Your newest book caught my eye in the bookshop in Bantry the other day as I was browsing the shelves. Actually, it was the Jimmy Lawlor print on the cover that drew me to it (great choice, by the way). We are fond of Jimmy’s paintings, and we have several of his prints which we have obtained from Fionntan Gogarty’s gallery in Westport. Jimmy is a master at capturing the essence of Connemara with a lovely playfulness. So you and the family are still here and with a bolthole to boot. Good for you! I’m glad you didn’t over- dissect the economic situation here too heavily in your latest book. We feel that the essence of Ireland will survive, and that this reversal really only has knocked some necessary edges off of those who got carried away with themselves. Our rural neighbors, all small hold farmers or transplanted artists, never really changed their lifestyles through it all, and are going about their lives as they always have. I can’t think of any other place I would rather be living out my “golden years” than here on the Beara.
Thanks for a good read, and all the best!
Kindest regards,
Jane Sanders
Gortahig
Allihies
Co. Cork
David -
Finished “Unhinged” and ran out to purchase “Jaywalking”. I read an article in the Waterbury Republican American about your appearence in the city around St. Patricks Day and was sorry to miss the oppurtunity to meet and talk. My wife and I have had many of the same experiences and dreams that you and your wife have had.
I married Eileen Mary Murphy in 1989. Her father, Thomas was born in the viilage of Ninemilehouse in Tipperary, roughly half-way between Kilkenny and Carrick-on-Suir. He emigrated to the US in 1911. Eileen and I honeymooned in Ireland in 1989. We were so taken with the people, the scenery and the customs that we opened a savings account at the Kilarney branch of the Bank of Ireland, requested citizenship material from the Irish Consulate and started making plans to move to Ireland. With Eileen being the daughter of an Irish citizen, we could own land, qualify for the national health program, etc.
We went back to Ireland with relatives in 1990, friends in 1994 and made solo journeys in 2007 and 2008. We started to notice the change in Ireland in 1994 and really saw a different country in 2007. Ireland is a place that we will always enjoy but never inhabit.
In 2007, we had much the same experience with the Bank of Ireland in trying to close our account that you did while trying to open a checking account in 2000. Drivers licenses, passports, letters did not help our cause. We had to return in 2008 with records of electrical bills, phone service and local property taxes.
I agree with your observation that once the Irish discover you are not one of them, they will feck with you simply because they can and it’s fun. Like the gentleman in a Galway pub in 1994 who autographed a World Cup poster for me with the signature “Oliver Cromwell”.
I also saw the information gathering side of the Irish. Hillary O’Sullivan owner of the Cliff House B&B in Tramore asking what our next stop was and why would anyone want to go there? Or the fireside chat we had with Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe House following the election of our first Afican-American president in 2008, asking us how did America really feel?
It is nice to read about the reality of making a dream real life. It is a tale that you tell honesty and amazement. Well done.
Regards,
Richard Bruce
Waterbury, Ct
Dear Richard,
Thank you so much for this interesting and observant, if slightly rueful post. Too bad we didn’t meet in Waterbury, what with all the commonalities. Been having an eventful time with launch of UNHINGED on the Irish side — speaking at Lismore Castle, mad Flat Lake Festival, charming Ballyduff, the radio and TV. All kind of renewing my affection for this odd land. But Gawd, they do know how to create mischief and mayhem, as evidenced by the nonsense you experienced with the bank. Were it not so!
Ah well, come back all the same, and when you do, look us up in Cork.
David
Dear David.
You are absolutely killing me!
In your reply to my post about Unhinged, you mentioned commonalities. Having just finished Jaywalking, I was going to post a comment about my encounters with the gardi, sliotars and senachies. I had previously penciled in Journey Into the Heart as my next read, pre-determining that it was the prequel to Jaywalking and Unhinged. I clicked on the link to Journey only to find that it was not about Ireland but pioneers in cardiology.
I had my first angioplasty (first of six) in 1994. In 2009, Father Christmas brought me a CABGX4. I have ordered the book and can’t wait to get into it.
I am now almost certain that the deeper I get into the Murphy geneology, I will uncover a Monaghan branch of the tree. I will proclaim you my long lost brother and Eileen and I will move to Cork and live in your basement.
By the way, Barnes and Noble stocks your books in the International Travel section. Strange.
Regards,
Richard
So move to Cork then. But bring money will you. Really enjoying the contact. And I know more than any man should know about stents and angioplasty because writing about such allowed me to make enough money to raise a family okay, which is becoming impossible for writers again. Love your enthusiasm and do not give up the ghost on this country, but just bring the money. I am sure you know about the genetic side (of almost everything), anti-cholesterol drugs I would pay for before sending money even to my starving children. Obedience class, I call it.
David
You call it obedience class, I call it better living through chemistry. I’m also enjoying the contact. My thought was to compliment a writer who had put words together in such a way as to make my eight stents tingle. I really enjoy reading your books.
I still have many stories to tell about my experiences in Ireland. If you tire of them, please let me know.
By the way, if you ever get back to Connecticut we will have a room ready for you that comes with complimentary access to my modest 40 bottle wine cellar. That should keep us talking for a day or two! Red or white?
Richard
Red. It’s good for the heart. Regards, and thanks again… incredible parallels to be sure.
David
David. Needed a book, was browsing through the Sacramento library…..found Ireland Unhinged by chance, and read it pretty quick. Much envy for moving your family to Ireland. On the Regan side it’s famine Irish, and I’ve been working on finding the exact connection….I’m getting close. Like your wife, I’m from New Jersey and my brother has a house in Sharon CT, right near Cornwall. We have things in common. On my first trip to Ireland after graduating Ramapo College of NJ, I hitchhiked up to Donegal and visited many of the places you spoke about in your book. Killybegs, Ardura, etc. Stayed in a hostel in Carrick and saw great music in a pub…..took a 50P ride on a small boat from Burtonport to Aran Island and had a blast…..got a ride to Letterkenny in a stepvan with a man who spoke English but I could not understand at all. Your book took me right back. Thanks.
Hello Dan,
It’s amazing how often I hear of these amazing coincidences re Ireland. Thanks for your note.
Just finished reading Ireland Unhinged, a delightful book. You did mention a number of musical groups, characters and I read on I was hoping to see a mention of Horslips in there. You may not be familiar with them but there were a highly influential group who,upon being prodded by fans to attend a Horslips memorabalia show, played a bit of set together that night and have recently embarked on a series of shows throughout Ireland, England, and Europe. Barry Devlin, the bassist, is a delightful man, with a great sense of the Irish about him. I was lucky enough to have seen them in Nova Scotia back in 1973 at St. Francis Xavier University and had them all sign their debut album, Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part. I studied Celtic literature and did my thesis on James Joyce and your book on Ireland brought back so many feelings and in many ways Leon Uris description of Ireland being a “terrible beauty” is once again accurate but this time for different reasons, and reasons unthought of so many years ago. You can visit the band site at http://www.horslips.ie
Looking forward to your next book.
David,
Thank you so much for the Unhinged book which I finished last night. You have a lot of hutzpah in the best sense of the word. We are planning on coming to Ireland a few months from now. I am going to use a guided walking tour service called FOOTFALLS with a man named Christopher Stacey and his wife Teresa. Having read your book and gotten my broad array of antenna up, I am going to use my own hutzpah to ask if you have ever heard of them? Maybe they are a new start up by Ben Dunne or Cathal O’Connell?
Best of luck with all your enterprises. I seriously doubt we will cross paths when we spend our several weeks in Ireland. But if we do, I’ll buy you a drink unless you have quit drinking as I did many years ago. Will I have a good time as a non-drinker in Ireland? Will I be tempted to start drinking? The thought didn’t dawn on me till AFTER we bought the tickets.
I particularly enjoyed the hair tearing out you do about the kids (and then you do stop appropriately). Raising kids is so wonderful and so terrible. Having been an English teacher for many years, I hate when schools jerk students around, which they do all the time. Why do schools pride themselves on “culling?” Why isn’t there enough to go around? That is the question I ask myself continuously.
Pam Gill