The Dream Trip - Chapter 16

Morning came all too quickly with the late night, early morning, celebration with the lads that the girls had all enjoyed. It was time to pack up and head back to Dublin for one last night in Ireland. Suitcases were bursting at the seams and there were still a few more souvenirs to purchase for friends back home. For one last time the girls loaded the car and headed east.

All during their ride they chatted about all the places they had seen, places they had missed and plans to make another trip to Ireland as soon as they could. Even with all that, most of their conversation centered around meeting Ryan, Paul, Damian and Keith. They considered themselves to be very lucky to have met some amazing talented lads all by chance.

Briana brought up Damian's comment about seeing her in the States and the other girls agreed that there must have been some hidden message in what the lads were telling them. There was not enough information for them to figure this out, and they decided to wait for the adventure to come to them as they had when they planned their trip to Ireland.

Accommodations for the night were a splurge at the Fitzwilliam Hotel. It was close to St. Stephen's Green and also Grafton Street and all the shopping they would need for the day. Most other locations were within walking distance. The girls drove out to the airport first to drop off the car and took a taxi back into town. They didn't want to have to deal with trying to return the car early in the morning and then checking in for their flight. It seemed that the clerk at the front desk at the hotel knew them, but they had never met before.

They were escorted up to their room and were very surprised when the door was opened. This was no regular room, it was a suite! Not what they had signed up for. As Mona turned to the bellman, he smiled and said, “This was what they wanted for you.” And the girls knew at once that their lads had something to do with this. As they entered the room there was a huge bouquet of flowers on the center table with a note.

“We couldn't let you four beautiful ladies leave Ireland without a last night to remember. We can't be with you, but we have made arrangements for the evening. Be downstairs dressed for an evening out in 'the big smoke' at 7:00.” signed Paul, Ryan, Keith and Damian.

The girls were without words. This was truly a dream trip. They had no idea what to expect, but started getting ready as soon as they read the note. When they arrived in the lobby there was a college aged girl who approached them.
“Hi girls, me name's Aisling and the lads have given me instructions to help you have a great last night here in Dublin,” Aisling told the girls. “So let's get going!”

Aisling was great, and the girls liked her immediately. They headed toward Temple Bar and Oliver St. John Gogarty's. for some Irish dance lessons and a trad music session while they had some drinks. Aisling took pictures as the girls each had their try at dancing. Before long they were all sitting and heartily laughing.

“Time to move on girls,” Aisling directed, “We've got more to do this evening.”

Aisling hailed a taxi and as they all climbed in she directed the driver to the Gaiety Theater. As they pulled up there was a huge crowd outside starting to enter. The Gaiety was a restored Victorian theater originally built in 1871. The restoration was amazing right down the to old fire curtain. The production this night was Riverdance.

“Can't let you lassies leave without seeing an Irish production of Riverdance,” Aisling said. “I'll meet you all outside after the show. I've a few last minute things to take care of for the lads.”

The show was great and so were the second row seats. The girls could closely see the dance steps and movement of the dancers feet. Great music, costumes, and a wonderful overall performance.

As the girls left the theater Aisling was outside with another taxi.
“One last stop tonight girls and I hope this one really makes your trip memorable. Ha' Penny Bridge, driver,” Aisling shouted to the taxi driver.

The girls and Aisling exited the taxi at the Ha' Penny Bridge. As they girls headed toward the bridge access they noticed some bright lights and a set up that looked like a movie set.

“Okay, girls, this is your moment in the spotlight. You are each going to have a photo shoot and short video to make,” Aisling was smiling as she explained. “You will get both to keep, but so will the lads! So think carefully about what you say!”

After a short consultation with photographer, and each other, the girls started their video blog and photo shoot. Mona spoke about her expectations for an adventure in her trip and how honored she was to meet such a gentleman as Paul. Darcy spoke about how beautiful and scenic the landscape was everywhere they traveled, especially Giant's Causeway where she first met her 'hero', Ryan. How lucky she was to meet such a caring man. Briana followed with her blog to Damian. Briana's biggest memory was the time she spent walking the ancient walls of Derry. How amazing to be able to play some soccer in Derry with Damian. She apologized for beating him even if it was two on one! And finally Caitlin did her video memory including Keith. She mentioned how she would always be on the look out for another Big Red and definitely wanted to take some surfing lessons. Watching the surfers along the coast was a special memory. Yeowww!! She told him how he made her smile and how much she loved his voice when he sang.

After the video blogs the photographer set up the girls along the bridge edge for some solo photos and a few group photos. As this all happened the girls noticed that they had drawn quite a crowd thinking that they might be celebrities. They giggled at the thought as they finished up the photo shoot.

It was getting into the wee hours of the morning and the girls had an early flight. Aisling rode back to the hotel with them in the taxi and bid them farewell. They exchanged addresses so they could keep in touch and invited Aisling to come to America as they would love so show her around.

As the girls did their last packing they chatted about how amazing this last evening had been. They wanted to make sure to call each of the lads before the plane took off to thank them for this incredible evening and everything they had done. They couldn't wait to get the videos and pictures.

The Dream Trip - Chapter 15

This had been an amazing adventure for the four girls. As the limo arrived at the hotel, one by one, each couple left the limo as the lad escorted his date to their room to say a private good night. With the exception of Damian and Briana tender kisses and long embraces were had by all.

Damian was the first to escort Briana to the room. Their good-bye was a little awkward as their age demanded certain behavior. After some small talk Damian leaned in to Briana and kissed her on the cheek. This time Briana was not surprised as she was when they first met in Derry and returned a kiss on Damian's cheek. Damian wrapped his long arms around Briana as she did hers around him. They were new friends saying good-bye and held on for just a bit to keep the memory fresh. As they parted Damian whispered in Briana's ear, “See you in the States!” and turned to leave as she entered the room quite surprised at what she heard.

Keith and Caitlin had a similar awkward moment, but when Caitlin turned to Keith and said, “I'll miss riding in Big Red.” a big grin crossed Keith's face. He leaned in to her as he pulled her close. Caitlin had to stand on her tiptoes and almost felt Keith lift her off the ground as he took her breath away with a kiss to be remembered and strong hug to go with it. “Take some surfing lessons,” he said as he turned to leave. “You never know where you might find me again!”

Ryan was next to leave the limo with Darcy. He had his arm around her shoulder as they entered the hotel and never took it away all the way to the room. As they approached the door, he gently moved Darcy from beside him to in front of him. Ryan took his hands and put them on Darcy's face and pulled her close. As he did his hands moved back through her hair and around her head holding her in a soft, long lingering kiss. Darcy was almost light headed and hung on to Ryan moving her head to his shoulder after the kiss. “Who is going to help me the next time I sprain my ankle?” Darcy asked.
“You never know how things might change in time, Darcy,” was Ryan's answer. He gently kissed her on the head, turned her to the door and watched her enter, then left.

Mona and Paul had been quiet all this time in the limo. As Ryan returned they both knew it was their time to part. Paul kept his arm around Mona's waist much like he did the night of the concert. As they neared the door Paul asked, “Do you ever visit New York City?”
Mona was surprised by this question coming out of the blue. “I've been there a couple of times, but have never had a reason to really go back.”
“We'll have to keep in touch, as you may have found a reason,” as Paul winked and pulled Mona close.

If Mona was looking for Prince Charming she knew that she had just found him. A long intense kiss with strong arms supporting her was all she could remember at the moment. Was she in a dream? She opened her eyes as Paul broke the kiss and pulled away. There was that smile and twinkle in his eyes that she saw in the beginning. A prince of a man. He nodded his head, turned and headed back down the hall to the elevator and the limo. Mona floated into the room.

As the girls drifted off to sleep for the few hours left of the night they all dreamed of their perfect man. This trip to Ireland had been everything they had hoped it would be, and even more. Tomorrow they would travel back to Dublin for one last night before heading home.

The Dream Trip - Chapter 13

The taxi dropped off the girls at the front of the Quaywest Bar and Restaurant. As they got out of the taxi they noticed Paul standing at the doorway smiling. There was just something about the look in his eyes that said something was up. Mona caught that immediately, but still had no idea.
“Ladies, if you will follow me, please,” Paul said as he led the girls inside past the bar to an area of tables with one large empty table. He nodded at a waitress as he passed by her and she headed off somewhere.

Briana was curious as to where the other guys were and couldn't contain herself, “Where are the others?”

“All in good time, Briana. Have a seat here,” Paul directed each of the girls to a specific seat. The large table was quite a way back in the restaurant and was almost private as it was not too crowded yet.

As soon as the girls were seated Paul excused himself and told them he would be back in a minute. The girls looked as Paul as he left and then at each other with confusion. As soon as Paul left the girls heard some music. But it was not coming from the bar. It was coming from the door where Paul retreated.

Darcy turned and tapped Mona on the shoulder and motioned to the other girls to look at the door. Through the door came Paul, Ryan, Keith and Damian singing Will Ye Go Lassie, Go with Keith playing his guitar. The girls were in shock. As the guys came closer they noticed that each of the guys had a red rose to hand to their date. What amazed the girls was how well they sang in harmony as if they had done this together before. They seemed so at ease with each other as they sang. They knew that Paul and Ryan knew each other, but not about Keith and Damian.

As they finished the song and the girls clapped for them they all took seats next to the girls and handed them the red roses. This was without a doubt something very special and the girls wanted to savor every moment. They blushed with a little embarrassment and all started talking at once. And then the laughter started.

The guys did admit that they all knew each other professionally and had sung together before with some others in a tour through the US. The girls could not believe that they had never heard of the group that was promoted through PBS. They figured that other than the fact they didn't watch much PBS, their personal lives were very busy and they really had not gone to many concerts. They promised the lads that the next tour they would be front and center.

It was an incredible evening. All the couples enjoyed the evening and it was entirely too short. The restaurant had delicious food and they all enjoyed a small glass of wine to toast that they were all together. Each couple looked like they had known each other for a long time and meshed well.

Darcy and Ryan were busy talking sports a lot of the evening, while Mona and Paul discussed travel and music in general. Briana and Damian were busy chatting about soccer and unforgettable games they had played, and Caitlin and Keith talked about traveling the world and Keith's surfing.

Before they knew it dinner was done and all eight finished a small desert dish. The girls figured that the evening would be soon coming to an end, but the lads had something else in mind. They knew that the next day the girls would be heading back to Dublin, and then on back home and wanted to make this evening something for them to remember. Since the lads all had music in common they wanted to end the evening with a fun event.

The Dream Trip - Chapter 9

It was later than they expected and the girls had not had dinner yet. Siobhan recommended a pub a couple of miles back down the road from where they had come. She said it had great pub grub and there would probably be some music as some of the locals always stopped by to sing a few songs and see if the people liked them.
“I'm sure you'll like it,' she said with a smile and looked at Caitlin and winked.

“What the heck did that mean?” was all Caitlin could think.

They knew that they could do a little driving with the spare tire but not too much, so the pub down the road was a perfect distance. They got themselves settled in the B&B, freshened up, and headed out to the pub for some dinner and music. At least some good music would make up for all the problems they had today with the flat tire. That was one of the things they had come to Ireland for was the music.

Briana couldn't help but tease Caitlin about Keith. Caitlin tried to ignore it but her complaints about not meeting anyone in Ireland had changed when Keith came along to help them with the flat tire. It was only a brief meeting, except for him taking her by the repair shop tomorrow. Not at all like all the other girls who had even exchanged phone numbers with the guys that they met and had plans to meet when they returned to Derry. Caitlin was very disappointed but she tried not to show it.

Shantallow House was back over the boarder to Northern Ireland. The girls were amazed at how everyone moved back and forth across this border as if it didn't even exist. They parked the car and walked into the darkened pub. It was full of antique type fixtures and had a great warm feel. Since they were going to eat dinner they didn't want to sit at the bar. They did order their stews and fish and chips at the bar along with their drinks. They chose a snug that was close to what they thought would be the stage. The barman told them the music didn't start until close to 10PM. With everything that happened and the long sunny days in Ireland, they had not realized it was already 8:30. There were a few other people at the bar and at booths who noticed the girls as they came in. It was not to often that Americans came to this local pub. They had grown accustomed to these looks and just smiled and went to their snug.

As they ate their meal and chatted about the day's events and things to come the time passed quickly. The pub filled up with more and more people, some coming by to acknowledge them as they realized they were visitors. At one point a few girls their age stopped by the snug and stood and talked for a while, asking questions about their trip and America. While they were talking they didn't notice that someone was getting set up on the stage area. Once the Irish girls left, their attention turned toward the stage and they were all surprised to see Keith. As he turned he looked over to them, smiled that dimpled smile and winked at Caitlin. She immediately blushed.

This was hardly what the girls expected. At ten o'clock Keith tapped the microphone and said hello to the crowd that had gathered. He said he was working on some new material and wanted to know what the crowd thought of it. As he worked through the songs the girls realized that he was quite a good singer and also a talented song writer. He had a very natural style and unique voice to accompany his songs.

Periodically he would glance over to the snug and Caitlin with a nod or a wink. During one of his breaks, one of the local girls who had stopped by earlier came by again and told Caitlin it appeared that he had taken a liking to her. Caitlin brushed off the comment but inside she was tickled that someone had noticed her.

After his second break Keith left the stage and walked over to visit the girls at their table.
“So's what do you think?” he asked.

“I love your music, Keith,” Caitlin answered before anyone else could say anything.

“Thank you, Caitlin. It's beer o'clock for me and then I'll sing another couple. Need to get my sleep so's I can get up in the morning to take you to the tire shop. Where are you headed after here?”

“We're going to Donegal for a day and then heading back to Derry to meet some new friends.” Darcy piped in.

“Yeowww!! That means you'll be in Derry again on Friday, right?”

“That's what we're hoping,” Briana answered.

“Then maybe I can see you all then,” Keith said as he looked at Caitlin. “I'm usually at Sandino's during the weekend gigging with some friends. Let me give you my cell number so you can give me a wee call.”

Caitlin could barely conceal her excitement. Finally she had me someone.

Travels in Eire #71

The weather for the drive to Connemara was beautiful, and Darren and Cailin enjoyed every minute of this trip talking about details for the wedding that they wanted to make sure they took care of. Cailin was an organized person and kept notes that they could refer to also. Darren was in charge of making sure the Ryan and Keith knew what they needed to know and were in place for both the wedding ceremony and the reception. Ryan would be singing at the church at Keith was in charge of the music for the reception. Darren knew Keith would gather together a few friends and rock the place until the wee hours of the night.

The last few days leading up to the wedding itself were as busy as could be. Emails and phone calls were flying back and forth between members of the wedding party and family. Every night Darren and Cailin were invited someplace new for a reception or get together. Once Cailin's parents arrived at Darren's parent's B&B, there was a gathering so everyone could get to know each other. The Guinness and Irish whiskey were flowing, and often when Cailin awoke she was not sure what day it was or what she needed to do. These days were full of Irish “craic” and family love.

Friday evening came and it was time for rehearsal. Everyone in the wedding party had arrived in Spiddal and the surrounding small towns, and had made their way to the church for the rehearsal. When Darren and Cailin arrived they saw Ryan talking to the priest and organist. Ryan Kelly was not only talented, but had a plan and wanted to make sure all went well for his part in the wedding. He waved to Darren and Cailin as they entered the church. Ryan had chosen all the music for the ceremony over several weeks of emails back and forth with Darren and Cailin. For the Prelude they chose the Love Scene music from Tristan and Isolde. For the bridesmaids processional he chose “Air-Your the One” from Circle of Friends and for when Cailin walked down the aisle they chose “Lark in the Clear Air” by James Galway.

Ryan would be singing “Give me Your Hand” during the lighting of the Unity Candle, and also and also a Communion song. Then Ryan would sing a song he wrote especially for Darren and Cailin. Cailin was so surprised that Ryan would do this for them. For the recessional Ryan would be singing the Irish Wedding Song rather than a serious classical ending. Both Cailin and Darren felt so lucky to have Ryan handling all the church music for them.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen arrived and they all had a quick run through of the ceremony. Cailn felt like she was dreaming as she went through the motions of the ceremony. Her life had changed so drastically since she first had come to Ireland for a vacation.

After the rehearsal all the participants headed over to Darren's parents for a huge rehearsal dinner and celebration. Maura, Darren's mom, and Mary, Cailin's mom, had been cooking and preparing for the for the last 2 days. They were fast friends already and were having a great time together. Sean and Philip had also hit it off well and seemed to be spending more time down at the local pub picking up a game of snooker when they could, and bragging about the upcoming wedding.

This was the party to beat all that had come before. The food was amazing and the booze was flowing. And then Keith arrived with his guitar, Ryan with his, and one of the friends Keith brought along that Darren had been trying to get for a fund raiser, named Damian McGinty. When the music started the party actually became even more lively, filled with love, friendship and laughter.

There would be many sore heads in the morning but it seemed no one cared, and neither did Cailin or Darren. What a way to get to the wedding!

Travels in Eire #69

Days were flying by and Cailin was now busier than she had planned with trying to make arrangements for the upcoming wedding and manage her research work, and now this new venture of women's meetings. The first few were small, but as news about this group spread from each of those attending, the group was now at 15 young women. They came from all walks of life, mostly professional, some para-professional but nonetheless, a nice group of women. There were times when a smaller group would decide to get together for dinner or drinks, feeling strength in numbers at a bar. Other times, the whole group would meet for a day's outing. They decided as a group to call themselves “Girls On The Town” (GOTT) to show their independent strength. One of the girls worked in a fabric shop and did a lot of sewing. At one meeting she brought all the girls pretty red and white printed satin scarves that matched. It would identify them as the group. She had appliqued in the GOTT initials in each scarf.

Darren was busy most evenings now with some fund raisers he was organizing and Cailin had convinced the group to have one of their evenings out at a festival in the park. Not only could Cailin be with Darren when he was working, but she was able to introduce some of the girls to the musicians that were performing that night. The girls loved that and as a group all donated a nice amount to the hospital charity in the group name. They loved it when Darren got up on stage to announce that the group Girls On The Town donated to the charity identifying them as the girls with the red and white scarves. The girls all proudly smiled and giggled with the recognition as they were acknowledged.

At one of their meetings Cailin brought up the idea of choosing a charity to support. They could even choose a different charity each year. Emily, one of the members told about the hospice where she worked and they all agreed that would be the first organization they would help. Each of the girls had an assignment. Cailin stayed in the background as the group organizer and let the girls take the lead. Before she knew it there was an article in the Derry Journal about GOTT and how they were raising fund for this hospice.

The girls had decided to band together and make a quilt for the hospice to hang in their entryway. Funds would be raised by purchasing a square in the quilt with recognition in the square as a donor. Rebecca, who worked in the fabric shop and had made the scarves agreed to sew the majority of the quilt and help teach others how to make some of the squares.

Between their contacts and hard work, their first fund raiser was a success. The hospice used the money to purchase new furniture for the great room that was used when families came to visit. Until then it was all hand me downs. They were also able to afford to paint the room and give it a nice fresh welcoming look with the quilt hanging on the wall of the room instead of the entryway.

After Cailin told Darren what they had done, Darren offered a partnership between the hospital and GOTT. The hospital would provide marketing and publicity and GOTT could help with fund raising efforts for the hospital. Cailin took this idea to the group. Since most all of them had been to the festival, they agreed that this partnership would work out wonderfully. Cailin had made some new friends and was now feeling more a part of the Derry community.

Travels in Eire #44

As they headed out of the plane Keith headed toward the EU passport line and Cailin toward the “Other” passport line. Her line was longer and busier. Cailin was anxious to get through the line, but knew that she had to be patient. Keith told her he would look for Darren in the luggage pick up area, and let him know that she would be along after processing. Finally she was passed through the immigration officer, had her passport stamped and headed toward the luggage pickup area.

As she approached the carousel for her flight, she spotted Darren chatting with Keith and sneaked up behind him.

“Sure glad to see you waited for me!” Cailin said as she wrapped her arms around Darren from behind.

“Seems like it took you forever. Were you giving those immigration officers problems?” Darren turned and gave Cailin a big hug and kiss on her cheek as he flashed the smile that she just couldn't resist.

“So you two, what's the plan?” Keith was patiently waiting as Darren and Cailin reconnected. Darren had filled in much of what Cailin didn't tell while they were waiting for her arrival.

“Time to head to the parking lot. We have a little bit of a ride ahead of us. Luckily I got a bigger care to make sure I could carry Cailin's luggage, so we can handle Keith and his guitar too!” Darren teased Keith.

Once they had everything loaded into the car they headed out on the motorway toward Derry. Cailin wanted to let Keith sit up front with Darren because of his long legs, but Keith insisted he would be fine in the back seat with the luggage that would not fit into the trunk of the car.

The trip from Dublin to Derry would take a good three hours and as they headed out on the motorway Keith was the first to suggest that they detour off the road after Armagh and stop in a small town to see another friend and have lunch at a carvery there. That would take them just short of 2 hours and be a perfect time to stop. Darren agreed to the plan and mentioned to Cailin that Keith was a voracious eater and this place would be perfect for him!

So who was this friend that Keith wanted to see. From the conversation Darren knew of this person too. Keith was on his cell making the call and from what Cailin could get from his side of the conversation, they would all meet up at the carvery in The Moy. Cailin asked about this town and Keith filled her in about how this little village was just barely a spot in the road where their friend Ryan, another musician, lived. Darren knew of Ryan but had never really worked with him, and was looking forward to the possibility of having Ryan perform at a future musical fund raising event. Darren also knew that if Keith was friends with this person he would definitely be a quality musician.

Cailin was busy staring out the window while Keith and Darren chatted away. She realized how happy she was to be back in Ireland. Her concentration on the scenery was suddenly jarred with a poke in her arm.

“What's got you so quiet my dark haired lassie?” Darren had noticed how quiet she had been.

“Just enjoying the Irish landscape all over again. I didn't know just how much I missed it these last few weeks while I was back in New York. And this is the same road I took when I got lost that first night in the rain. We just passed Mullaghmore where I ended up stuck in the mud and my whole life changed from that point on!”

“Ahhh, another American falling in love with our country,” Keith chimed in from the back seat. “And here we Irish are just loving America. Yeooowww!”

Other than the time Cailin was traveling back to Dublin when she flew home, this was the fist time she really took the time to enjoy this road and the lush green countryside. It wasn't long before they pulled off the motorway and onto a local two lane road to The Moy. Keith gave directions to Darren and they pulled into a frontage road in this small village. There was a handsome dark haired lad sitting on the short wall in front of the restaurant. Cailin assumed this was who Darren and Keith had been talking about. As they pulled past the front of the restaurant Keith pulled down his window and leaned half his body out shouting hello to Ryan and received a welcome wave and a big smile back.

Lunch was fun listening to the 3 lads chatting about music and ideas for supporting some of the work that Darren does for the hospital. Cailin realized that here she was with three very handsome and talented Irish lads. What more could a girl hope for. Keith and Ryan knew each other for a couple of years and had worked together with a group that toured the US. This was the first time that Cailin had heard about them. There were others in the group and Darren told her she was sure to meet at least one other who lived in Derry like Keith. As Cailin listened to the discussion she wondered if hanging around Darren and his music interests she would become a groupie? This was a strange thought as other than listening to Irish trad music on her iPod, she had never really been around bands until she met Darren. She smiled to herself as she thought about all the twists and turns her life was taking. It did make her happy.

Travels in Eire #19

Darren practically dragged Cailin out the front door he was so anxious to get out of the house. She couldn't help but laugh as they started to walk across the gravel front of the house.

“Cailin, that's the first time I've really heard you laugh so much!” Darren told her.

“Darren, it's just the whole situation. Your gramps is hilarious, and he knows how to get your mom going. I feel bad not staying to help with the dinner dishes,” she replied.

“Mum will manage. She'll probably get da to help her tonight. It's this way...” as Darren pointed to the right as they walked past the entry to the house.

As they followed the small road in the opposite direction from when the initially drove up, they came to an older section of the area and a brightly lit pub. The sign over the door said Paddy's.

“Let's see what everyone is up to here at Paddy's. If there's no music, or only the older crowd is here, we'll head down another few doors to The Wharf,”

As they entered the door there was no need to see if they needed to go further. Welcomes were all around for Darren. These were his mates hanging out for the evening. And they were sizing Cailin up and down as he walked in the door.

“'Bout time Darren, we see you've brought a pretty lass home for your Ma's approval,“ they teased.

“Now Declan, don't you go getting the horse before the cart. This is my friend, Cailin from America. She's here on vacation and I've offered to show her around Connemara the next few days. We met up in Derry at a music event I was hosting,” Darren tried to clear the air about their friendship quickly and hoped this would do the trick.

“Oh, right, my boyo. That means she's fair game? Cailin, nice to meet you, and come sit over here. I'd like to get to know you better,” Declan knew this would get to Darren, as he laughed.

As they took their seats, Darren made sure to put himself between Declan and Cailin. The two of them might not be together, but he knew Declan's reputation from way back. An order of drinks was made, with Cailin choosing her favorite Guinness, and Darren ordering a whiskey, neat. Cailin was introduced around to the rest of the group and was welcomed immediately.

There was music playing in the room next to them and it traveled through their area just enough so they could talk and listen. Darren introduced Cailin to the friends who were sitting with them. There were many questions about the States, which Cailin was used to by now and she tried to answer all honestly without glossing over the hardships the existed in the States. So many people thought that a world of opportunity was to be had when they arrived in the US, only to find that times were hard. Educated students even had trouble finding jobs.

As they chatted Cailin realized that there was now a second Guinness in front of her and Darren was on at least his third whiskey. She also notice that his usual in control demeanor had changed and become very relaxed. Almost too relaxed. It was getting late and Cailin mentioned to Darren that they might consider taking their leave as they had a big day tomorrow. Darren agreed as soon as they finished their drinks and they bade his friends a good night and headed back to Darren's parent's home.

It was obvious that Darren was more than a little tipsy. Instead of just putting his arm around her shoulder, he was practically hanging on her, chatting away about nothing in particular as they walked. As they neared the opening in the wall that lead to his parent's house, Darren suddenly stopped, pulled Cailin around so they were face to face and drew her near into a firm warm kiss. The Guinness seemed to have relaxed Cailin also as she responded in kind and realized that she was totally enjoying this moment. Darren arms wrapped around her with strength, but not forcefully. She felt cared for in a very special way. A second kiss followed, and both of them were looking at each other smiling.

Cailin was the first to speak, “I think we had better go in.” Darren quietly nodded and they entered the house as quietly as they could. Darren stopped at the door to the room Cailin would be staying in and was about to kiss Cailin again as he hear someone stirring next door in his parent's room. He quickly pulled back, put his finger to his lips, then to hers, smiled, leaned passed Cailin, as he had that first night at the hotel, and opened the door for her. She entered as she saw Darren bounding up the stairs with that great smile still plastered on his face. Was this just the actions of someone who had too much to drink? At this point Cailin didn't really care. She was very happy. She felt cared for again.

More music to try

So in between story chapters, I thought I'd talk about some Irish music. The trad (traditional) music of Ireland has not changed much in the last 20 years. It's still very popular in pubs and music venues. But the face of trad music and it's style has changed some with a number of new and very talented musicians.
Some are individual musicians, and some are groups. They have come together in various ways, but the music is still there. I'd like to introduce you so some of my favorites.
The High Kings - this is a group of 4 musicians, each talented in their own right and who come from a lineage of famous fathers. They were put together by the same organization who now run Celtic Women, but are very traditional. I'd liken them to the Clancy Brothers (Finbar is the son of one of the Clancy Brothers) and did have the opportunity to meet and see them in Omagh this last year.

Mickey Coleman - is a very talented young man who writes and plays his unique style of music that mostly talks about the life and times of people, Irish and otherwise. He has opened for the Chieftains several times and will do so again this fall. I love how some of his songs can be so touching and another will be so irreverent. You can find him on MySpace with samples of his music.

Cat Malojian - is a duo of 2 guys that I can't really put into a category. I've always thought that some of their music reminds me of Harry Nillson. It's light and enjoyable.