One Night in Ireland

In January of 2018, I met my colleague and soon-to-be best friend, Judith. In September of 2018, I went on a three-week trip to Europe with her and met her entire family. What can I say? We moved quickly.

Judith is from Ireland. She was born in Limerick and lived in Galway until she moved to the States. Our trip started in Germany for work. Our company (adidas) is based in the Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach, Germany. We were scheduled to be there for a week of training, and then somehow we were scheduled to be there for another week in September… that was not consecutive. We had a week in between to fill. 

Judith felt that since we would be in Europe, she’d be remiss if she didn’t stop by and visit her mother, who was ill. She invited me to tag along for a night in Limerick and since I’m of Irish descent and have always wanted to visit Ireland, I figured it would be a missed opportunity to not go with her. 

Additionally, her sister lives in London so we were able to stay there for the time in between. 

We met in Germany, worked for the week, and then flew to London to stay with her sister and family. Within seconds of meeting her sister, Hilarie, we were also in love. Those Holland sisters are so damn lovely and warm, it’s hard not to feel like life-long pals immediately! 

We flew to Limerick on a Friday morning with a return flight for the same time on Saturday. I am not embellishing when I say it was the coolest, most hilarious 24-hours I’ve spent anywhere in my life. The flight was less than an hour, or under one episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race which is how we actually measured our time. We were landing in the lush green fields of Ireland in no time. 

When we went through customs, the guy took my passport and said, “Barrett, eh? Welcome home!” Customs always scares me because I fear authority figures who can reject me from their country, but this guy was my people. He immediately made me feel welcome, and as though I belonged. It made a lot of sense that it’s where Judith and Hilarie were from. 

We went to a desk to call a cab, and the guy at the desk said a driver would be out shortly. We waited for a minute and all of a sudden heard in the thickest Irish accent, “WELL, AM I THE LUCKIEST MAN IN THE WORLD OR WHAT? I GET TO DRIVE TWO BEAUTIFUL LADIES!” Then he threw his arms around us and walked us to his cab. He was an older man wearing a lilac sweater and a scally cap. Again, my people. 

The best part of that cab ride was that Judith said she was visiting her mother, who was suffering from dementia, and he quickly responded with, “Ugh, I’d rather die.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the blunt insensitivity. Then it turned out that they knew the same people, and he was able to fill her in on their whereabouts. Where else does that happen but a small town in Ireland? It was amazing. 

The driver dropped us off and said he’d pick us up bright and early the next day for our return flight. He wouldn’t take money right then, he just said he’d get it the next day. Again… the trust and friendliness were beyond. 

The Irish were hands down the friendliest people I’ve ever met. It was incredibly noticeable. It was more than waving or saying hello… it was clear that anyone would go out of the way for a complete stranger and was actually interested in what they had to say and where they were from. I felt as though people were asking me questions, and listening to the answer. Imagine that? LISTENING! 

While Judith visited her mother, I explored the city and visited a medieval castle, potato market, riverside walking path, and an old church. It was really beautiful. It actually sort of reminded me of Boston, which isn’t very beautiful… but it can be. It has its moments. 

However, the best part of the day was dinner. I assumed Judith would be taking me somewhere very local and Irish… and she did. We went to the Jasmine Palace... the best Chinese food in all of Ireland. 

And you know what? It was really good Chinese food. 

We met up with one of her sisters, her friend from college, and friends from childhood. It was so much fun to sit there and just listen to them talk. They talked so quickly with their Irish accents, shared funny stories about Judith, and taught me how to properly say “feckin eejit”. Upon hearing it was my first time in Ireland, they refused to let us go back to the hotel and sleep for our early flight. They took us out for a pint (of Guinness, you don’t even need to specify in Limerick) and all the pubs were filled with laughing Irish folk of every generation. It wasn’t like Boston, where everyone goes to their own spots geared towards their age demographic. Every generation was out in the same pubs. We saw bachelorette parties, groups of old men, old women, people in their thirties, young kids… and everyone was SO RIDICULOUSLY NICE. 

It made my heart swell, and it made me proud to be Irish. 

They introduced me to Baby Guinness shots (layered Baileys and Kahlua) and I promptly spilled mine on Judith’s hair. We ended our night by eating late-night chips (fries) covered in various gravies. Honestly, not much different than how I’d end my late nights in Boston. Except there’d be more pizza and cheesy bread than gravy fries.

Our driver picked us up the next day, as he said he would, took us back to the airport, and gave us a big hug as though we were family. We were back on the plane watching another episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race and landing back in London in no time. 

I can’t wait to go back to Ireland to stay longer and be a tourist, but there was truly nothing like experiencing Ireland like a local. I got my DNA tested and it came back 99.8% Irish, and Limerick was the #2 spot I have ties to. (My dad’s father was from Cork, so that was number one.) Being there, I couldn’t help but think THESE ARE MY PEOPLE the whole time, and now I get why. They literally are my people. People who are funny, quick, and friendly… and always have a drink in their hand.