Published 2007-03-30

Diary: Irland
Text by Maria Kroon och Sanna Jurvanen, Translation by Per Nord

In April last year, we were visited by the Barefield Céili band and its leader Denis Liddy. They toured here in Sweden and learned about Swedish culture. This year it was our turn! It became a wonderful trip with lots of music and new relations.

Thursday march 1st
This day we were mostly travelling. Half past 10 in the morning we waved goodbye to grey clouded Kristianstad and got into the cars on our way to Malmö. After a not that healthy amount of chocolate bought at the airport, we flew to Dublin. We were met by Michael Meere, our lovely - but soon to be revealed, totally crazy - bus driver. It took us unbelievable three hours (normally it takes at least three and a half hours) to travel all the way to Ennis. During this time we also drove backwards on the highway and made a life-threatening U-turn in hard traffic. Finally in Ennis we were met by our lovely host-families and we spent the rest of the evening with them (at least we did. We had pasta. That was lovely).

Friday march 2nd
We woke up in our beds, freezing. Apparently Irish people are used to a much lower temperature indoors than us Swedes. Well, well. After breakfast we went to the school where Denis is teaching.

We had two concerts for the pupils and they loved us! They where the most enthusiastic audience we have ever met, so it was great fun.



That night we went to Ulrikas and Jennys host-family, Kim and Noel Hutchinson, to celebrate Marikas birthday. This was the first night we where able to enjoy an Irish knytkalas. An Irish knytkalas goes like this; you eat until you feel a bit nauseous, only to reveal that there is cookies too. Except eating a ridiculous amount of food, we played a fair amount of music, of course.

Later that evening we went to a pub in Corrofin, the village where the festival we were going to play at where held. Unfortunately there where not a lot of people out, so we went home quite early (most of us anyway…)

Saturday march 3rd
That day we where taking part in workshops in Corrofin. We who played fiddle were at first placed in a too easy group, but we changed after lunch. Most of us thought that the workshops was really good, even thou many of us agreed that it was quite hard to catch up. Irish musicians have an incredible way of playing by the ear because they are brought up with that way of learning. Although it is not uncommon that splendid Irish musicians can’t read music, witch was a bit of a comfort.

On the afternoon it was time for our last concert. The festival were held in pubs, and so where our concert. The pub The Old stand took us and nearly 50 listeners. A rumour that Swedish girls where going to play had lured a fair amount of luck-seekers. This made Kim come with a lot of jokes about it. All of them about Ulrika marrying an old farmer and inherit him. The concert went alright, except that Per forgot a lot of his instruments in Denis’s car so Susan had to start the concert with a solo piece while the rest of us tried to look like everything was as it should. Well, the concert went alright and when it was over we could rest and enjoy all of the fantastic sessions that where offered that night.


We the students ended up in a wonderful place with really good musicians that where really lovely. We played, made acquaintances with the Irish people and even got free pizza! We met a family that had an eight weeks old baby, and one of the musicians gave Ulrika his wood spoons that he had taught her to play. It was a night to remember.

On the afternoon a lot of us went to the Cliffs of Moher, aka the Moherrocks. The dad in our host family Denny told us that they are quite a large tourist attraction and that they are the highest cliffs in Europe. Highest or not, they where beautiful anyway. The ocean was wild and everything was surrounded by the sun leaking thru the clouds. The impression of maybe the natures finest creation was somewhat ruined by an incident involving my gloves and for me an unknown American woman. But enough about that.



That night was the last night of the festival, and it was a little more quiet but very cosy. I and Sanna got lost into an almost empty pub with a fiddle player that looked like Sam in The Lord of The Rings and he played like magic. At the end of the night most of us in the group ended in a place where almost the whole village seemed to be gathered. It was probably the last thing happening on the festival.

Monday march 5th
Me, Sanna, Amanda, Marica, Anna and Elsa were visiting an all-girl catholic school during the morning. Among other things we where visiting a lesson in sign-language. I had a few assumptions that the lessons were stricter than in Sweden, but it wasn’t like that at all. The only difference seemed to be small things like that you didn’t address your teacher with anything but his or hers last name and that you used school uniforms. Other than that the lessons where like those back home in Sweden, it wasn’t like you didn’t dare to talk without the teacher’s permission.



After that visit we went to town and shopped like crazy (well, I did anyway…) A lot of records with Irish music, sheet music and presents to the poor ones back home. After that it was time for the last gathering with our host-families. All of us where a bit tired after all new impressions, but it didn’t stop some of us from taking a sauna afterwards. Only because a certain Irish person had “pippi” on the Nordic countries… well anyway. We didn’t catch much sleep during our last night in Ireland, because we had to get up at four in the morning!

Tuesday march 6th
The journey home went quite smooth. Dear old Michael didn’t drive as wild as the first time. Or it might just have been the impression just because the clock where five in the morning and you slept most of the journey. It felt strange to be back in Kristianstad again that same afternoon and it wasn’t just the jetlag I think. It feels like this journey will say with us for a long time. I will definitely return to Ireland sometime, and I think all of us feel the same.

Maria Kroon och Sanna Jurvanen march 30th 2007