A Look Into an Irish Home

Living in an apartment building in Ireland with other college students, I thought I'd be missing out on the "home stay" experience that other Loyola students would get to have.  During our trip to Dublin, my friends and I stayed a few extra days in an Irish family's home.  They lived in a small Irish suburb outside Dublin called Lucan.  The neighborhood's houses were lined in a row like soldiers in the army.

As we walked into the house, we were greeted by a tiny, smiling Irish lady named Alice.  My tongue tingled smelling the spicy Thai chicken curry cooking in the oven.  Thai chicken curry is one of their favorite meals to eat.  Alice's husband, John, son, Alan, and daughter, Kate, all sat around the table talking to us about how we liked Ireland so far.  We talked about their daily lives and what it was like to grow up outside of Dublin.

Kate and Alan have both played hurling for their local sports club their entire life.  They consistently practice and play games, as their dad coaches them on the sidelines.  In Ireland, practice for sports is called "training".  They take it very seriously and almost every person in their neighborhood plays.  I had never heard of hurling before coming to Ireland.  John insisted that we should go with them to their hurling training that night.

We walked up to the "pitch" where Kate's teammates were running back and forth.  They carried long paddles and hit a ball, resembling a lacrosse ball, between each other.  They ran up and down the field faster than jaguars chasing after their prey.  Hurling looked like a combination of every single sport I have ever seen.  John and Alice excitedly explained all the rules of the game.  We drove back to the house and sat in the living room for biscuits and tea.

The next day after a long day of shopping, we walked into the house to the smell of Shepherd's pie.  This is my favorite traditional Irish meal.  Having two home cooked meals was a great change from the awful cooking I had been doing.

Spending a weekend in an Irish home was a great insight to the culture and daily lives of the Irish.