The summer weather here is nothing if not unpredictable. Ireland experienced record highs for the decade at the start of the week then a gradual decline during the week back towards the middling temperatures and cloud that we have come to expect. Then to cap it all off, it rained and rained on Saturday - nasty, misty stuff that seeps right into your spirit.

 

This would be bad enough but to make matters much worse, the band had been booked to play an outdoor concert as a part of a Maritime festival in the town of Youghal, about 45 minutes drive from here. So with no clear decision from the promoters on whether or not it was going to go ahead, we loaded up several cars with gear and friends and headed off.

 

We convened at a local pub in Youghal where we managed to get in touch with the promoter (who was also the local butcher and newly elected mayor) Despite the atrocious conditions he insisted that we should wait until it was clear enough to set up. We thought he was mad. There was hardly a soul on the street and little evidence of any festival going ahead. Reluctantly we made our way to the designated spot just as the rain eased off. In a fit of blind optimism we set up the drum kit and as the ground magically dried before our eyes, we brought out the amplifiers, PA and guitars. By the time we started playing, there was not a cloud in the sky.

It was a bizarre experience, playing on the street to a decent enough crowd of friends, people having a smoke outside the pub across the road and folks who were passing but decided to stop and listen for a while. There were little children dancing and wedding parties tooting as they drove by. And we were paid well.

We finished the day relaxing on the beach in the still glorious sunshine of early evening.

 

Last weekend, the weather was great throughout so we went camping beside the sea at the hilariously named Ballylickey. We got there via Gougane Barra, a magical place of pilgrimage surrounded by mountains of West Cork. We promised ourselves we’d return there soon, so more on that in a later post.

On Sunday we took a short boat trip to Garinish Island, a small island that was transformed in the early 20th Century into a private garden paradise. Amongst all the other exotic flora on the island, we were delighted to find a silver fern and a kauri. We were also able to watch the seals, and a newborn seal pup basking on the rocks in Bantry Bay on the way to and from the island.

Garinish Island also boasts a Martello Tower. These cylindrical towers are dotted all around Ireland’s southern and eastern coastline. They were built during the Napoleonic War to keep the French out. Judging by the amount of French folk on the island that day I suspect that they have lost much of their effectiveness.

We also drove out to Mizzen Head at the south west tip of Ireland for some spectacular cliff-top views and a hair-raising drive along the last few miles on one of Ireland’s one and a half laned roads.

We planned to stop in Kinsale for a fish and chips dinner. Sadly, three quarters of Cork had the same idea and after a 3 km crawl into the town the only thing we wanted to do was get out. Nevertheless it was a lovely weekend and we’re hoping for a few more camping weekends before the end of summer - weather and other commitments permitting.