Last night as I lay dreaming of pleasant days gone by,
My mind being bent on rambling, to Ireland I did fly,
I climbed on board a vision and followed with a will ...
— Michael Considine, 'Spancil Hill', 1870's

Ireland: An Unexpected Destination


County Mayo, Ireland

I had planned to travel in the Summer of 1985, but I had not counted on leaving the country entirely. When the time arrived I was excited and a bit nervous — I had wanted to get away, but this was farther than I had ever gone before.

I had planned carefully for my trip out west across the country. Now that I was going east across the ocean I felt that I was not fully in control of my journey. That was both exciting and scary. This trip was taking me into the unknown in a way that I had not anticipated.

I also found myself thinking about Martin. He had left his home in Ireland around the age that I was now to find work, first in England and then in America. I had known him only as an old man, but now I felt closer to who they were at my age. Now I was taking their journey full circle.