As we approach the end of our third month in Ireland, I'd like to share a bit about our recent trips to Galway and Cork. It's been nice to take some time to explore more of the island and get a sense of what is the same and different across cities here. Hopefully we'll get to explore the countryside more as time passes--what we've seen from the motorways is beautiful (and full of sheep and cows).
Galway, 8-10 August
We celebrated our August wedding anniversary* by visiting Galway, the original home of the claddagh ring. The claddagh consists of a heart held by two hands and topped with a crown, symbolizing love, friendship, and loyalty. My spouse and I have worn claddagh rings together for a long time, and they proposed to me with a claddagh that has a diamond set as the heart. I also gave them a claddagh during our engagement, but due to a manufacturing flaw and wearing at industrial jobs, it broke. We decided that a good way to mark one year of marriage would be to visit Galway and find my spouse a new wedding ring there, to celebrate both our commitment and the history of our new home country.
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| They picked this one. |
*A fun part about elopement is that we also have a January wedding anniversary. The legal marriage took place in January, and we had a reception with our family & friends in August. Highly recommend.
It just so happens that the weekend we visited was pride in Galway! Pride celebrations occur throughout the summer in Ireland, in part to support queer community-building in a country with a relatively small population. We had also attended pride in Limerick, and we found the parade in Galway to feel more political--more like a protest. It was also a much bigger parade than the one in Limerick, which surprised me because Galway is a smaller city.
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| Two photos of protest signs on the first float in the Galway pride parade. |
I have loved seeing so much pro-Palestinian sentiment at pride celebrations in Ireland, and a lot of pro-Palestinian sentiment generally. There's something special about the solidarity between the Irish and every other colonized people on Earth. There's also something very important about protesting the occupation of Palestine at LGBTQ+ pride events: none of us are free until all of us are free.
Other highlights from Galway included the Latin Quarter, the Spanish Arch, and the Spanish Armada Cemetery, which is one of the creepiest cemeteries I've ever experienced. We didn't get very far into it, because all the vibes said "Leave."
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| A plaque on the wall of Forthill Cemetery commemorating the sailors of the Spanish Armada who washed ashore in 1588 and were subsequently executed by the English. |
Cork, 22-23 August
Cork is the second-largest city in Ireland and believes itself to be the best--the "true capital" of Ireland. I have no standing to support or refute this claim. Cork felt very busy and crowded to me, with lots of people walking around and narrow city streets that made driving up and down the hills a particular challenge. My spouse and I have different opinions about how much we liked this.
Our original motivation to visit Cork that weekend was also queer: the Cork Public Museum recently received on loan a segment of the original Gilbert Baker Rainbow Flag. This is the eight-stripe rainbow flag that was first developed in 1978. We figured it was as good a time as any to make our initial trip to Cork.
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| The flag on display in a museum case. |
We walked into the museum about 12:40 PM on Saturday. As we queerly perused the exhibit, a very friendly person asked us, "Are you here for the talk?" "There's a talk?" we naively replied. "Yes, with guests from the San Francisico GLBT Historical Society. It starts in about 20 minutes." "...Yes, of course we're here for the talk!" And that's how we stumbled into attending a conversation between queer historians from San Francisco and Cork, talking about their collaborative relationship and experiences preserving LGBTQ+ history. It was a delightful example of what happens when you put a group of nerds together to talk about their shared interest in front of an audience. :)
While there, we experienced some of Cork's vibrant food scene, including Probys for brunch, Paladar for tapas, Four Liars for Syrian dinner fare, and La Cantina Company at Marina Market, where I was delighted to find Venezuelan arepas for the first time since I lived in State College, PA. Our comfortable overnight stay at Gabriel House included my first full Irish breakfast (all delicious; I learned that I like white pudding > black pudding; we met the hens who laid the eggs) and a wonderful hotel dog who made sure we got some puppy time with our morning coffee.
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| Bell, receiving her due adoration. |
One of the best parts of our time in Cork was meeting up for dinner with new friends who share a number of our identities (gay, academic, American expats). It was a relief to hear someone else describe the mixed experience of moving here that has rattled me the whole time: it is such a privilege to have the means to do it, and also, "we saw how bad it was already getting and we had to leave." It seems like this duality is often difficult for people to recognize who are not actively experiencing it.
On Sunday morning, we visited the Cork City Gaol and learned about the history of imprisonment in the 19th century. They do a really excellent job with the exhibits. So many people were essentially incarcerated for being poor--mothers and children who stole to eat and stay clothed, etc. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Where to next?
We're all gearing up for school to start again. Primary and secondary schoolers started back this week, my teaching starts next week, and my spouse starts their graduate programme in later September. I'm glad we've gotten to take a few adventures this summer, and I'm looking forward to finding my new routine.
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