As I sit in the airport only 30 minutes away from loading that plane, I reminisce on the past month. I haven’t slept yet and nearly missed check-in time for my flight, but none of that matters.
All that matters is that I saw the Dublin sunrise.
I saw light fill the Irish sky around 4:30 this morning, realizing it may be the last time I ever see it.
The girls and I soaked in every bit of our final 24 hours in Ireland, and despite all the craziness and packing and last minute tearful goodbyes of the morning, I sit completely satisfied at the fact that we lived EVERY.MOMENT.
Our day started off to the sound of “Closing Time” (much like our first morning at UCD) belting out of my laptop. We were still finishing up our project for the HSE, furiously trying to get into the city for much needed souvenir shopping.
Steph and I ran around campus one last time, saying goodbye to Quinn School of Business and the bus route we’d taken for the past 25 days.
One of our favorite things to eat on the trip was bangers and mash, so we stopped at Nude for our “Last Supper” together. As I said before, Steph and I are pretty much getting married.
I snapped a few more shots of “last” things such as our bus ride and stroll down Grafton Street. We ran into Carroll’s so I could find t-shirts for mom and dad and some sort of perishable item for grandma. Catching the 10 back to our rooms, we frantically got ready for the night’s festivities.
The whole group enjoyed a traditional Irish dinner at the Arlington Hotel. The hotel is located right off O’Connell Street, in the heart of Temple Bar area, so it's perfect for any pub-crawling or late night rendezvous. The evening featured a three course meal (in which I had salmon and salad, Guinness stew, and AMAZING apple pie), live music and a Riverdance show.
As we sat there eating our main course, music started playing behind the screen on stage. Whipping out our cameras and getting ready for the Irish band, the screen began to rise, and I saw a very familiar face on the other side.
Tom O’Brien.
Tom and I had met one of my first nights out (yes, Tom was the one who drove us home in a BMW via post #4). He was a very nice and attractive accordion player, but I was never really interested in meeting up again. Despite making that pretty clear to Tom, he had continued to text me ALL.MONTH.
Now, here he was playing before us, as I sat awkwardly slouched in my seat, praying he wouldn’t recognize me.
The set only lasted 30 minutes (thank goodness) and the dancers came on stage.
They were incredible. Words can’t even describe the way they moved and the rhythm they had.
After the show Tom’s band came BACK on stage for a sort of “encore” style performance. As our table requested songs and the main singer kept yelling “Texas” towards us, Tom and I locked eyes for the most uncomfortable moment I’ve ever had in my life.
Trying to hurry and escape Arlington Hotel before he came up to me, I frantically grabbed the girls, pushing them out the door as Professor Love gave a “be safe your last night here” speech.
Oh no.
Tom approached me in front of my professor.
Kiss on the check and all…
Once again, Professor Love wasn’t too impressed, but the accordion player wished me a hearty safe trip home and went on his way.
Now, here is where the REAL night started.
We ventured all over Temple Bar area. From Porterhouse to Purty Kitchen to Turk’s Head to Quay’s, we did them all! We ran into unknown Czech bars and ones that resembled West 6th street. Spending WAY to much time at Fitzsimons, we walked down the road a ways to a pub that stays open until 3am- Doyles.
As the bar closed at 3:30, Jenna and I were the only girls left standing. We headed down a block towards O’Connell street to watch the sunrise.
While sitting there on that bridge, James Blunt’s “Goodbye my Lover” lyrics played through my head (Ireland being my lover of course).
So, with that said, we came up with a list of goodbyes, odes, alohas, Slán agat, and all that jazz…
Goodbye Harcourt Street and all the craziness you ensued upon us.
Goodbye St. Stephens Green and the wonderful sunshine you brought.
Goodbye bus drivers of #10.
Goodbye Howth cliffs.
Goodbye Jameson whiskey.
Goodbye morning stories of Dawson Street and the many pub-crawlers we encountered.
Goodbye Irish friends.
Goodbye fish and chips.
Goodbye Fibber Magees of Galway.
Goodbye long socks and 5am weekend adventures with the girls.
Goodbye Blarney castle wine tasting.
Goodbye mornings at Insomnia before class.
Goodbye euros and haggling cab drivers.
Goodbye my Mr. B.
Goodbye runs around Donnybrook.
Goodbye Temple Bar and Guinness glasses.
Goodbye “Texas fights” in the Wicklow mountains.
Goodbye music and incredible Irish stories.
Goodbye to all the moments, memories and overall madness.
And Goodbye Ireland…you’ve been the best lover a lady could ask for.
Texas Fight for life y'all.
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