All Things Irish

From my visit to Dun Aengus.

In honor of St Patrick’s Day, and because I still really miss Ireland, I’m going to fill March with All Things Irish.  Or at least all the things that I loved or hated or was entranced/ intrigued/puzzled by during our two-and-a-half years there.

We’re going to start the month out with a movie, set in Ireland of course.  And because it’s my birthday, and because as a child I always wished I had been born a day earlier, on Leap Day, my pick for today is . . .  you guessed it . . . Leap Year.  I only saw this for the first time last night, but that’s probably because I was in Ireland when it came out and it never got there.

Now, I’m not a movie critic, and what I like isn’t necessarily what the critics like, so I’ll stay away from comments about acting or directing.  I do know something about contrived plots but, ahem . . . suffice it to say that it was a cute-but-silly movie.  But oh, did it bring back memories!  It was worth watching just for the scenery.

"Leap Year" - country roads, hedges & cows, oh my!

The narrow country roads lined with hedges, the particularly Irish look of the villages, the dairy cows blocking cars.  The smooth, green hills and stone walls.  The narrow bed in a tiny B&B.  The hail coming out of nowhere on a sunny day.  The gorse in bloom.

Yes, been there, done that.  And I’d do it again.

I even had the thrill of recognizing Dun Aengus and its cliffs at the end.  Okay, it was supposedly on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, and it’s really on the isle of Inis Mór near Galway Bay, but still.  I grabbed Hubby O’Mine and said, “I’ve been there!  I’ve looked out over those cliffs!”  During a break at a week-long writers conference, actually, and . . . hmm,  you’ll have to wait for another post to hear about that.

Leap Year is a movie that has its geography all screwed up, as well as its seasons, but just forget about that and enjoy the scenery.  And Matthew Goode’s soft voice and soulful eyes.  Even if he’s not Irish.  (And okay, I’ll give you guys Amy Adams – she’s gorgeous!)

PS – if you want to know where scenes were really filmed, hop on over to Jerry Garrett’s blog about the locations.