With the days getting short and dark, and with few opportunities to go searching the countryside for ‘forgotten places’, I have more time to look back at my discoveries.
Most of my life had been in the Far East where it did not take long to be struck by the people’s politeness, formality and sensitivity to others. When I asked where that tradition came from the people were surprised. What was I talking about? To them it was as natural as the air they breathe and needed no explanation. However, for me it meant reading up on Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism and Shamanism.
It usually takes a foreigner or someone who has been abroad for a while to recognise what is unique in a culture or way of life. Back in Ireland after a long absence I could appreciate an aspect of Irish life that most take for granted. There is an openness to others, a good humored and positive attitude to life. Where did it come from?
I finally accepted that the roots had been planted during a period of over a thousand years before the Normans came. The newcomers, and their successors, tried to remodel the Irish in what they considered a more civilised way and fortunately they were not completely successful.
The uniqueness, and warmth, of the Irish character can still be found in ordinary people but it is in almost forgotten places around the country that we are reminded of its sources and progress.
Over the past year my search for such places has been both enlivening and educational. Soon the days will be getting longer and brighter and I look forward to discovering more of those ‘forgotten places’. I hope you will join me in the search.
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