"Childhood memories..." a County Dublin Travel Page by kit_mc

I used to visit Co Dublin a lot in my childhood years as my father's family are dotted around places such Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey, Shankill and Killiney. I visited again this January for my cousin's wedding and was surprised at just how I could still find my way from A to B, this time driving myself. My trips to Ireland now, in my adult years, tend to be for the less cheery focus of funerals, so it was quite a nice change to find myself here for a happy occasion.

I've in fact spent very little time in Dublin City itself as our trips were between Dundalk near the border where my mother's family came from and Dun Laoghaire, where my father comes from. Dun Laoghaire I'm pretty fond of, as it's a fairly pretty little harbour town, not a whole lot going on though. If you're arriving by ferry from Wales, you'll likely pass through on your way to other parts of Ireland.

I can't really say anything of use about Ireland for travellers, as I always spent my summers in the same places with relatives and although I've visited most of Ireland, it was so long ago that maybe I need a road trip west to remind myself. Some memories I have though; arriving in Dun Laoghaire on the ferry from Holyhead in Wales in the early hours of the morning, always going up on to the deck to watch the land get closer; wandering around the shopping centre that in the early 80's seemed so cool; learning to ride a bike with my cousins, me being the city boy and hence an embarrassingly late learner; and then the ferry trip back to Wales, watching the land get further away and wondering when I'd next be back and whether I'd feel even more of a foreigner next time...

Ireland is an absolutely beautiful country, but in some respects I find it hard to appreciate it as my family live there. One of my favourite parts though are the mountains of Wicklow. Pity that I was dragged up them on family walks with one of my uncles so many times that I came to dread them... I didn't really do activities that required energetic walking then, nor now! Possibly my favourite view anywhere is up near where one of my aunt's live in Killiney, Victoria Mount. From here you can see so far south down the coast to Wicklow. This view also holds something special for me as it was one of my mother's favourite vistas, so I try and drag myself up there whenever I'm over. Irish landscape for me is laden with lots of memory and mixed feelings.

Ireland is known traditionally for both its dramatic green landscapes and for being a welcoming country. I find the tourist ads on tv rather irritating as they tend to work on 'Oirish' steretypes that I don't really recognise. For me Ireland will never be a tourist destination, it's sort of not foreign, but the fact that all your relatives speak with a different accent reminds you that you're a bit foreign after all. I'm unlikely to be a frequent visitor to Ireland as an adult I suspect, as in many ways I've kind of been there and done that. But I hope one day in the not too distant future I'll do a road trip down memory lane round the country.

Thinking about it, I can be grateful of my Irish background for at least one thing - all those trips across the incredibly rough Irish sea on the St Columba in the 80's means that I have very strong sealegs!!