The stunning coast of Dunmore East.

Spur of the moment plans pay off

Gemma took a leap of faith last week and headed on a last-minute trip away to Kilkenny and she tells us all about it in her latest column The Good Life...

A spur of the moment decision saw myself and the girls from college down in Kilkenny last weekend. To say we had a ball was an understatement. On the way down, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was going to a 21st birthday party at which I knew nobody. Obviously my friends knew the birthday boy, we didn’t just randomly gate crash the thing. They knew a handful more than I did, but not too many. For this reason I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing.

On the way down, my nerves dissipated completely. We drove through Tipp town, Clonmel and Cahir singing our hearts out. The whole southern part of the country either think we were going through a major breakup or were simply just high on life. Which we were, it was eighteen degrees out and, with sunglasses on, we were dolled up to the last, ready to head out.

We pulled up to a place called The Royal Oak in Mooncoin. It was a quiet country pub, which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Great, I thought. While I do love country pubs, I know the run of them. Everybody knows everybody and the newcomers are often stared out of it until a brave local approaches to see if they know your grandparents. I don’t think anybody in Kilkenny knows my grandparents, which would make me a complete and utter stranger.

We went to drop our bags at the Airbnb we were staying at. The birthday boy’s mother came out to greet us. She gave us a tour of her B&B, which was clearly her pride and joy and with good reason. Upon entering, a pool table, darts board and chess table greeted us. Up the stairs was a stunning kitchen and sitting room and triple room. Another flight of stairs revealed more bedrooms. The best part was the glass conservatory overlooking the river, which led out to a patio. I couldn’t own this B&B because I’d live in it. We were told to pick the best room so naturally we stole the one with the ensuite.

After our tour, we were driven to the pub. It was still quite early - meaning we were one of the first ones there. Sure enough, we did get a few stares from the locals who nearly choked on their pints when I told them I came from Cavan. Of course this sparked several jokes about not getting into a drinks round with me and drying teabags on the clothes line in the morning. I took it all in good humour, knowing fine well there was nobody to back me up if I tried to defend poor Cavan. When all had settled a bit, one man revealed that he couldn’t for the life of him remember why, but he was once in the Cavan Crystal Hotel. He remembered it being a lovely place and I was chuffed that at least one person wasn’t roasting my home county.

With awkward introductions over and after a few drinks, we had a great night. I don’t know why I was so afraid to go out in a place where nobody knew me. It was brilliant, I met new people in college in Limerick and had a brilliant time.

The next morning, while some opted for drinking bottles in the sun, we stuck with coffee. Heading for the cure was not on our agenda. Asking what we could go and do for the day, we were told Dunmore East in County Waterford was stunning. I put it into google maps, which told me it was only about 40 minutes away. After saying our goodbyes, we headed on our way. We stopped in Waterford town and fuelled up in the No. 9 café and then on to Dunmore East.

The coastline of Dunmore East is stunning. With cargo ships, fishing boats and trawlers everywhere, I honestly felt like I was on holiday. We went for a walk around before deciding to sunbathe on the rocks. Feeling adventurous, I decided I wanted to go swimming. As soon as I put my toe in, I regretted my decision, the water was Baltic (around 9 degrees). I couldn’t back out though and, after getting over the initial shock, I swam around for half an hour or so. It felt unbelievable, I didn’t want to leave. I dried out on the rocks, which is a rare statement when it comes to Irish weather. After ice-cream, we strolled out onto the pier - the summer vibes were pulsating.

We swung by Mooncoin on the way home, not for a pint but with a card, flowers and chocolate as a thank you to the parents who let us have the B&B for the night.

Kilkenny people are lovely and we really enjoyed our time there. I am taking the weekend away as a sign to say yes to more last minute plans.

* Gemma Good is from Killeshandra and a second year journalism student in University of Limerick.

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