Very Irish weather. Very windy. Lots of rain. A stay at home day mostly. The rain let up a bit around lunch, so we ventured to Ventry (play on words!) for lunch at Quinn’s Pub. Funny story about Quinn’s. Many years ago we stayed in Ventry in a rented house for four weeks. We invited Bill & Mianne over to stay for a week with us. They had friends, who we had never met, staying in Dingle for a month (or more). Anyway, well before Bill and Mianne arrived in Dingle, we stopped in Quinn’s Pub for a pint. As I was at the bar ordering, an American couple came in, and I struck up a conversation. “Where are you guys from?”, I asked. “Massachusetts”, they responded. “Where”? “Scituate”. So I asked, “do you happen to know Bill and Mianne from Scituate?” They looked stunned. “Yes, we know them and they going to have lunch with us here in a couple of weeks.” So, by pure circumstance, we met Paul and Joan Green well before Bill and Mianne had a chance to introduce us. We all later had lunch together in Ballyferriter. And, in future years, we met up again with Paul and Joan for drinks as they often were here at the same time we were.
Anyway, lunch today was good. Guinness for me; Beal Ban IPA (local brew from the West Kerry brewery at Bric’s Pub) for Elaine. We split a scallop starter that might have been the best scallops EVER. Elaine had a chicken sandwich with chips and I had lamb stew with mashed for our mains. It was all delicious. You can barely see Ventry Beach in the background in the last picture. The weather only got worse from this point forward on Sunday.
I did venture out later for a pint at Curren’s, but otherwise we hunkered down at home for the rest of the day and night. Not much else to say about the day.
The Republic of Ireland vs. Northern Ireland
The Republic of Ireland (26 counties) is completely independent from the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland, made up of six counties (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Derry/Londonderry and Tyrone) remains part of the United Kingdom. The name Northern Ireland is a bit of a misnomer. It should rather be called Northeast Ireland. The northernmost point on the island (Malin Head) is in County Donegal which is part of the Republic of Ireland.
Now, since Brexit, Northern Ireland (part of the UK) remains, oddly enough, in the European Union Customs Zone but is not part the European Union (EU) itself. That was done as part of Brexit to prevent the establishment of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic (which remains a full member of the EU). This fact causes no end of problems between the UK and the EU and between the UK and Northern Ireland.
Will Northern Ireland ever be reunited with the rest of Ireland in the Republic? Of this, I have no doubt, although it may not be within my lifetime. The six counties were once predominantly Protestant and Unionist. That’s no longer true. Catholics (better breeders) now outnumber Protestants. And the majority (but not absolute majority) political party in Northern Ireland is now Sinn Fein (fully pro-Republic and nationalist). Since Brexit, however, the DUP (the main Unionist Party) has refused to participate in government. The devolved Northern Irish Parliament (at Stormont) is, therefore, at a standstill at the moment. The civil service continues function as normal. It’s all a mess really.
A little more history will be in another post . . . maybe.
Funny story about Quinn’s Pub. What a coincidence running into Mianne’s and Bill’s friends. Appetizers and lunch look delicious.
Thank you for the history lesson on the Republic and Northern Ireland. Very confusing.
Irish history is confusing. It varies depending on who you talk to.
Really enjoy the history lesson! Keep it up very interesting!
Scallops are my favorite seafood and the meal looks incredible!!
Continue to enjoy!!
It would not be Ireland without the wind and rain! Food always looks amazing, scallops my favorite. Thanks for history lesson Joe. We can hardly wait to see family in AZ. Just a few more days (Thursday).