As I was bringing a birthday gift to my Godchild Holly I decided to kill two birds with the one stone and do my challenge whilst there. Holly's father-my best friend Alan, was only too delighted to do his bit for charity by absolutely soaking me with icy water, a true friend.
I arrived at Alan's to a warm welcome as always from his wife Wendy and their two impossibly cute little girls, Holly 4 and ruby 2. Ruby was quite insistent on showing me her slide and bike, checking several times throughout the afternoon that I had seen them. After a lovely dinner it was time to face my fate . I changed into a fetching pair of swimming shorts and descended the stairs. Alan sadly explained he only had a very small bucket which had a hole in it, but as luck would have it he had an enormous bin full of ice water instead , hurrah! We quickly got on with the soaking as we feared the children would combust with excitement at any moment if we didn't .
Ice Bucket Challenge
After a few dozen viewings of the video it was time for me to leave and head for West Cork. There followed several rounds of hugs and vague plans to meet up again soon.
I headed towards Bandon , still unsure where to stop for the night. It was getting late so I decided to make Clonakilty my home for the night. A very pretty market town situated between Bandon and Skibereen, it holds many fond memories for me. The most recent memory is undoubtedly my stag party which was held there last year. My friends and I descended on the town last year where the very kindly dressed me as the Pope for the nights festivities.
I arrived into town at around 8pm. I went to the door of a few b&b's looking for a room . The first one I tried had several rooms available , but then quoted a price so high as to cause an involuntary tightening of the sphincter. I tried several more with no luck. Quickly losing hope I pulled up outside O Donovans Hotel on Main Street and after a short few minutes negotiating with the Shrewd West Cork man behind reception was in possession of a room key and a voucher for breakfast.
O Donovans Hotel
O Donovans appealed to me immediately, an old building, it's ramshackle decor only adding to its charm. I quickly threw my bags into the room and went out for a wander .
Main Street Clonakilty
It was quiet on Main Street as I passed the brightly painted shops and businesses . I did a quick loop of the town , passing a statue of the great Michael Collins on my way. I arrived back on Main Street in need of refreshment , and slipped into De Barra's .
De Barra's
De Barra's Bar and Folk Club has been a legendary venue for over 30 years , playing host to thousands of acts.
You enter into a cosy , softly lit bar, which leads into a back room used as a music venue . It's the sort of place you could happily lose a weekend, and many have.
I settled myself at the end of the bar while the bar man poured me a perfect pint of Murphys stout . The atmosphere is buzzing, the crowd a nice mix of locals dressed in t Shirts and tourists, dressed in hi tech rain gear.
I fell into conversation with a young guy called Tom at the bar . Conversation is never hard to find in West Cork and topics ranged from the beauty of a settling pint of stout to the band who were getting ready to play - Tiny Ruins Trio.
" You look very familiar Tom, have we met before?"
" I dunno" said Tom , scratching his chin.
" you do look familiar though"
After several minutes ruling out shared family or work Tom's eyes lit up ,
" confession!" He exclaimed .
"Confession Tom?" I replied .
"Remember , you gave me 12 Hail Marys and 1000 our fathers?"
I had, in fact I'd dished out thousands of them . During the aforementioned stag party I had taken to the role of Pope with gusto , blessing pints and having my ring kissed like a good'un ,culminating in me hearing confessions in the smoking room of De Barra's . There I offered absolution to all comers, including Tom , in exchange for penance , and pints.
Pope Paul
I left Tom to his drink and wandered back to O Donovans. Before turning in for the night I stopped into the hotel bar to have a quick nightcap, served to me by an endearingly flustered bar man with a slightly worried look on his face.
All in all a good day.
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