Thursday -- Fly Casting! Today is one of my two destination events for the trip. We accomplished the first one, visit Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, in Dublin on Friday. Today it’s fly fishing with Paddy Dunworth (www.celticangling.com). Jeff, Allen and Ben came along and the weather cooperated, in a manner of speaking. It was bright and sunny but Ireland’s recent string of bright, sunny days also meant no rain and the River Maigue at Adare was extremely low. No matter. Paddy took us in hand and after determining Allen had sufficient experience fly casting sent him off on his own before concentrating on the basics, with lots of background and local color, for the three novices. Paddy spent two decades as a publican, skilled and experienced in relating colorful stories as we tourists expect from someone behind the bar of an Irish pub. After thorough but brief instruction the rest of us took to the water. It was every bit the experience I had hoped it would be. Developing a bit of skill, paying attention to technique and enjoying the day.
A pheasant flew across the river. A swan paddled below us. Desmond Castle, parts dating to the 13th century.
Adare Bridge behind us, itself a 14th century construction widened for 20th century vehicle traffic.
The water was cool, providing some relief from the hot day, especially by moving into deeper water to increase the rate of thermal transfer through the bulky waders.
There were no fish amenable to nibbling flies in the shrunken river and bright sunshine, leading me to rename the day ‘fly casting’ instead of fly fishing. Paddy said that was to be expected, but it might have something to do with Allen's presence, who is known to be nearly fish-catching-proof. It didn’t help that at some point on my progress downstream the fly parted from the leader. It’s really difficult to catch a fish on a piece of bare monofilament. As the tide came in from the Shannon a few miles away we retreated to the shore where Paddy opened the cooler with some snacks, beers and hard cider to quench our thirsts. And more stories, local history and further fly casting tips. It being early we detoured to Dromcollogher on the way back to Springfield and selected the Corner House pub to celebrate our successful day of fly casting. ‘Successful’ you ask? No one fell in the water, no one got hooked by an errant cast, no one got sunburnt to a bright, shiny red, we all learned something new and had a great time. Allen navigated over back roads from Adare to Dromcollogher using the Ordnance Survey map I had acquired at the Adare Visitor Centre. It was the most convoluted trip of the week, but we did see some new country. During the second round of Guinness Jeff and I ventured two doors down to O’Conner’s butcher shop where we stocked up on Irish bacon, a bag of new Wexford potatoes and an Irish Black Pudding for our sausage connoisseur, Cora. It was the most unappetizing thing we could find. Sliced into ¼ inch slabs and grilled on the stove, it turned out it to taste ‘like turkey stuffing’ according to Ellen. Cora can tell you what she thought of it. The Irish are justifiably proud of their local meats and O’Conner’s prominently displays on a board behind the meat counter the identify of each beef and oinker contributing to the day’s provender as well as the name of the farmer who raised the beasts. It personalizes dinner. It’s probably clear from earlier comments, but let me be specific and give Paddy Dunworth a huge thumbs-up for his knowledge, good humor, attitude and patience. Maybe next time there will be a little more water in the river and hungry brownies waiting to take one of Paddy’s hand-made flies. -Rick
While the menfolk geared up to fish in Adare, most of the rest of us stayed home for a nice mellow day of laundry, enjoying the castle grounds and, naturally, pink pedicures.
Abigail and Paulina had generously promised Desmond a pink pedicure, and this developed into a whole Springfield Spa experience.
-Cora
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| let there be pink |
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| Abigail, an exceptionally good sport, let Desmond paint her fingernails |
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| Desmond and Zelik were thrilled to see Patch, the neighbor's dog, again |
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| Lego-time with Grandpa after dinner in the tower |
Thursday -- Fly Casting! Today is one of my two destination events for the trip. We accomplished the first one, visit Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, in Dublin on Friday. Today it’s fly fishing with Paddy Dunworth (www.celticangling.com). Jeff, Allen and Ben came along and the weather cooperated, in a manner of speaking. It was bright and sunny but Ireland’s recent string of bright, sunny days also meant no rain and the River Maigue at Adare was extremely low. No matter. Paddy took us in hand and after determining Allen had sufficient experience fly casting sent him off on his own before concentrating on the basics, with lots of background and local color, for the three novices. Paddy spent two decades as a publican, skilled and experienced in relating colorful stories as we tourists expect from someone behind the bar of an Irish pub. After thorough but brief instruction the rest of us took to the water. It was every bit the experience I had hoped it would be. Developing a bit of skill, paying attention to technique and enjoying the day.
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