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My Mother loved all things Irish, and it was her dream to travel there someday. So, in the spring of 1988, we decided to go together! We booked a tour through AAA travel, got our passports (my first) and flew on a small plane to New York to board the overnight flight to Shannon.

I remember waking up from a fitful sleep to the smell of coffee and the sun peeking in the windows.  As the pilot announced we were approaching Shannon airport, I couldn't believe the shades of green in the landscape below. We landed, were met by our wonderful driver, Patrick, and headed to our first hotel outside Ennis. While the rest of our tour mates opted to sleep in, Mom and I headed to the folk park near Bunratty Castle. Mom was thrilled to find a shop that featured her family name, Cahill! That night we went back to Bunratty for the Castle dinner, and afterwards agreed there couldn't be a better first night in Ireland.

But our favorite part of our trip was when we got to County Kerry.  The weather was mild and sometimes sunny! We stopped in Kilorglin and met a little donkey ready to haul the turf from the fields.  

We had the best lunch of soup, brown bread and coffee in a pub in Dingle, and loved the sheep dotting the cliffs on the Ring of Kerry.  My Mom was thrilled that so many of the Irish people we met would ask her, "So you've come home!"  They thought she was born in Ireland with her red hair and green eyes, and she did fit right in!

But my favorite photo from the trip isn't against one of the breathtaking backgrounds of Ireland. It was taken by the self-timer on my camera in the hotel in Cork.  I guess you could call it an original "selfie!" It captures the joy we felt every day in the land we dreamed of visiting.  We are all smiles, hands clasped, enjoying every minute together!  And when she passed away only 2 1/2 years later, I knew she took a bit of Ireland to heaven, and I was so happy I had memories of our trip to last a lifetime!

-Jane