"I Had An (Irish) Dream..." a Ireland Travel Page by TravellerMel

My heritage is Irish, my grandmother's maiden name having been McAfee, so I suppose a certain siren call to the Emerald Isles should have been expected. Ireland has long been on my short list of places to visit, but it became a stronger desire after my friends Sue and Les (O'Regan, no less!) went and brought back beautiful photos and wonderful stories of the beautiful countryside and friendly people. I instantly loved the music, and frequented a pub in New Orleans called O'Flaherty's, where Danny O'Flaherty was the proprietor and performer.

It took almost 2 years from that time to plan a trip, to include my friend Reba and my brother Kevin. Then... Hurricane Katrina. I evacuated from New Orleans and was unable to return home; I was subsequently stationed in Nashville, TN. However, my wonderful boss told me to go ahead and make the trip, and I am so glad she did! Ireland was everything I hoped it would be, and so much more! Our trip was a whirlwind 10 days - lots of time spent in our rental car on the "other" side of the road. But we got a flavor, and are anxious to go back for more!