On Thursday it was time for me to head back to my first home in Ireland, Sligo. Fleadh Cheoil, the biggest festival of traditional Irish music in the world, was held in Sligo last year and this year it would be held in Sligo again. Last summer I missed this major altogether, but this year I was lucky enough to be a part of it all. And I'm incredibly happy that I did. Fleadh Cheoil is Irish and means "festival of music". And that it truly was! Never before have I seen such passion, joy and talent of music and dance. It was just brilliant! Especially when so many of the talented musicians, singers and dancers were so young. Such talent at such a young age.. Incredible, that's all I can say. But back to Thursday, the 13th of August when I arrived to Sligo.
On Thursday afternoon I left work a little earlier so I could catch the bus from Ennis to Galway and then follow up connection from Galway to Sligo. This would be my first visit to Sligo since October 2014. In other words, I had been gone for almost a year. Needless to say I was very excited about going back. When I finally arrived to Sligo, I almost couldn't believe my eyes; the town was packed! I've never seen Sligo that full of people and life. Sligo is a lively town considering its size, but this was something I've never witnessed before. I circled around town a bit with my luggage, cause I wanted to look around and see would it still feels just as familiar and like home as it had felt when I lived there and when I visited the town in October. It did. Standing by the bridge, looking at the river Garavogue that courses through Sligo, I felt a tremendous amount of nostalgia, but also like I've arrived home. I do love Galway, and I think I love Galway even more than I do Sligo, even though I never thought I could love another town or city in Ireland as much, but Sligo is Sligo. It will always be the town where I found where I truly belong. Where my heart truly lies. Where I truly felt like home for the first time in my life. In other words, Sligo will always have a very special place in my heart. Not to mention that it is filled with such happy and good memories.
Due to Fleadh Cheoil being a huge event, of course all the hotels and other accommodations in Sligo and within 30 km radius or so have been booked months and months in advance. So this led me to trying out the house rental site, Airbnb for the first time ever. And it turned out to be a very good experience. Not only did I find accommodation with a very central location, just about 2 km from the town centre, but it was very reasonable priced as well. In addition to that, my hosts couldn't have been friendlier or better hosts, from the moment they picked me and my luggage up from the town centre to the moment they took me to the bus station. This truly was Irish hospitality at its finest. They really couldn't have done anything more to help me and make my stay as amazing and pleasant as it was. So anyone who is travelling, especially if you are travelling in Ireland, I very warmly recommend you to try Airbnb out. You won't regret it. I know I didn't!
Because the house I was staying wasn't right in the town centre, my hosts offered to come and pick me up from the town centre. This was very friendly of them. Though it turned out it was their son who came and picked me up. Needless to say it was a bit surprising to hear a complete stranger calling for my name in the dark of night. But oh well, it all turned out well. Their son was very nice and eventually I got to meet my hosts as well, a lovely Irish couple. When I got to the house, I was tired after working and sitting on the bus for so long. So all I wanted was to get a hot shower and get some sleep. My room was very nice, it was spacious and the bed was very comfortable. And when I arrived to the house, I was greeted by two dogs. I can honestly say that having these two lovely dogs in the house made the stay even better. You gotta love dogs! Especially dogs as friendly and adorable as these two cuties were. After seeing my room I also got to take a look around the house. It was a lovely home, very modern and comfortable. It did feel like home. And that's what truly separates this type of accommodation from hotels and hostels.
The next morning I woke up well rested to a beautiful day. Over breakfast I also got to meet some of the other guests staying in the house. It was nice just to chat with the host couple and the other guests. We talked about the Fleadh, what we would do, where we were from, was this the first time for us visiting Sligo and all that. I had planned to go on a tour that would climb to the Knocknarea Mountain, a place that's not too far away from Sligo. But that was until I realized that the car park where the tour would leave from was quite far away from the house, on foot anyways. And it would be quite hard to reach by a bus as well. But then something happened, something that pretty much can happen only in Ireland; a lovely Irish couple who I had met over breakfast, they would be climbing the mountain that day too. So I ended up joining them. This really showed that in Ireland, there are no strangers, just friends you haven't met. And when people sometimes ask, why is it that you love Ireland so much, it's these kinds of little things and stories I tell them. I ended up having a great time with the Irish couple. We talked about all sorts of different things and they weren't bothered at all that I went with them. It was cool meeting new people like that and when I told the couple about my experiences of Ireland and about my plans to live and work here, they wished me good luck with it all and even said, that Ireland will be very lucky to have someone like me living in the country. So yeah, all in all, a very good start for my time in Sligo and for my first experience of Airbnb. And let's not forget about the main thing; the climb to the mountain itself! The climb wasn't as demanding as I would have thought. I wasn't completely out of breath when I got up there and I wasn't even sore the next morning. But the landscapes up there.. Amazing! You could see all the way to Strandhill and Rosses's Point from there. You could see the ocean. You could see the Benbulben Mountain. It was breathtaking. It truly shows the upmost beauty of the West coast of Ireland. In addition to that, I was happy that I finally got to climb to the Knocknarea Mountain, since it had been on my Ireland and Sligo bucket list for a long time. But I never got to do it while I was living in Sligo. But now it's done. So yay me!
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| On the way up to the Knocknarea Mountain |
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| On the way up |
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| Made it up! |
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| On top of the Knocknarea Mountain |
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| On top of the Knocknarea Mountain |
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| On top of the Knocknarea Mountain |
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| Wow.. Just wow. |
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The ocean, the hills and the green. All of my
favorite landscapes in Ireland in one photo! |
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The ocean, the hills and the green. All of my
favorite landscapes in Ireland in one photo! |
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The ocean, the hills and the green. All of my
favorite landscapes in Ireland in one photo! |
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The couple with whom I climbed up kindly offered to
take a photo of me at the top. |
After the climb down, the Irish couple even offered me a ride to the town centre. There I got my first taste of the Fleadh Cheoil. There was music and dancing everywhere! It was amazing. And it was particularly great to see so many young people having that passion and sharing the joy of music and dance. The bands and performances I saw, some of the performers were so young, barely 8 or 9 years old, yet they were so passionate about what they were doing and so damn talented.
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The weather during my time in the Fleadh couldn't have
been better. Sunny and warm and no rain! Just perfect. |
The next day I went to one of my favorite places in Sligo. Strandhill. Even though I have been to Strandhill several times before, it's still such a beautiful place. And of course for me, the main thing there is the ocean and the beach. Walking along the beach with the sound of waves and the smell of seawater, it just never gets old for me.
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| Strandhill Beach |
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| Strandhill Beach |
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| Strandhill Beach |
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| Strandhill Beach |
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| Strandhill Beach |
After Strandhill, I headed back to Sligo town centre to enjoy some more music and dance. And ah, the bands and dancers I saw were just amazing! I kept circling the same area and time after time I would find some amazing band or a dancer. It was just fantastic. And the best part of it all was that even if you're not that familiar with the traditional tunes, like I am not, or if you're not the biggest trad music enthusiastic in the world, it didn't matter. No matter what, you were still able to enjoy the music. And that's exactly what I did. It was brilliant. And of course there was the general, friendly atmosphere of Ireland. And what I loved about this festival, was that even though I was circling the festival on my own and, since it was a festival after all, there was quite a bit of drinking involved, no one would bother me, no one would say filthy remarks, try to hit on me or just bluntly suggest something. Nothing like that. Not even in the evening. And this was something I loved. Not once did I have to be worried about the fact that I was there, walking the streets alone. Sad to say, this is not the case most times in Finland. Especially when there's a lot of alcohol involved. So all in all, I can say that I absolutely enjoyed and loved Fleadh Cheoil 2015. It was amazing to see a big event like this in my beloved Sligo and it was amazing to witness this celebration of music and dance. I didn't think it was possible, but this made me love Ireland even more. So yeah, I would definitely say that the Fleadh was one of THE highlights of the summer.
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| This lad was an amazing dancer! |
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| This band was amazing, one of my absolute favorites. |
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| This band was another of my favorites. So young, so talented! |
My time internship is slowly coming to an end. I can't believe that I only have a couple of weeks left. As the end comes closer, the more anxious I'm getting. Going back to Finland literally is the last thing I want, at times it feels a bit like it's not even an actual option for me. Which is why I'm desperately sending in job applications and hoping I'll get lucky. Luckily it's not all completely hopeless. I do have an actual job interview tomorrow, which I'm really looking forward to. And I'm hoping I get lucky. I just can't go back to Finland anymore. There's no going back for me. I belong in Ireland, that's just how it is. So keep fingers crossed for me tomorrow and hope for the best!
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