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Touring Ireland with Mary Beth McRoe

by ‎03-16-2015 11:51 AM - edited ‎09-03-2015 04:02 PM

Every St. Patrick’s Day, it is a kind of ‘family reunion’ at QVC, because over the past 25 years, I have come to know and love the Irish guests that have visited QVC year after year, such as Matt Doolan, Stephen Walsh, Sinead Flood, John Cullen, Barbara Campbell, Eve Harbourne, Phillip O’Keefe, etc.…….  I even had the privilege to travel to Ireland with a video crew from QVC three times in my career, and each time was so lovely, but it was work after all.

 

So a few years ago, Mark and I decided to travel to Ireland for pleasure, along with a couple of our dear friends, John and Debbie.

 

 

We spent a week traveling mostly the west coast and southern area of Ireland, and it was breathtaking, hilarious, quaint, frightening and windy. What was breathtaking was the scenery, especially the Cliffs of Moher. 

 

 

They are unbelievably high and majestic!  I had never experienced anything like it before or since. It causes you to be respectful, because that’s one place where you don’t want to walk out to the edge and accidentally catch a wind.

 

 

What was hilarious were the herds of sheep and cows that would be lolly-gagging down the middle of the road whenever they felt like it, and no one necessarily leading the way! You can’t be in a hurry in Ireland, especially out in the countryside! 

 

 

What was quaint were the pubs with the delicious food, the friendly people, and the home-like atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

What was frightening was the driving on the wrong side of the road and sometimes the road being the same width as the car, and then you would meet another car coming at you! We let John and Deb do the driving. Both Mark and I felt completely inadequate to do that kind of driving.

 

 

 

What was windy were the golf courses Mark and John tackled!  They are both good golfers, and they were ecstatic to be able to golf on Irish courses. It was a dream come true for them!

 

 

 

While they were golfing, Deb and I were getting a little spa treatment along the way.

 

 

But one of my favorite parts of the trip was to go to Galway and visit with James Callaghan from Galway Irish Crystal and visit their headquarters. I have loved and collected Galway Irish Crystal for many years at QVC, so that was a true delight. Then James took us on a little day-outing to see one of the places that had been carved into some of the crystal pieces we had sold on QVC.  During that trip, we were able to see the area where Connemara marble is mined, and you could actually see the green rock of the earth in that region.  It was fascinating!

 

 

 

From the mountains to the valleys to the green rolling hills to the harbors where the sailboats sway, it was magical and enchanting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every time St. Patrick’s Day comes around each year, I am reminded of this wonderful country, its never-ending hospitable people, and the charm of the characteristics that make Ireland such a spectacular destination for anyone wanting to visit! As the Irish say:

 

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

 

Counting our blessings,

 

Mary Beth McRoe