Surviving The Summer: Finally a weekend off, free from hurling training and matches, to travel west and join the family in Lettergesh, Co Galway. It had been three months since I last set foot outside Dublin's city limits. It was before the Leaving Cert - a time I can barely get my head around today. The past is another country.
The bus seemed to take forever to get into town, but as the doors opened, I was out of the traps like a greyhound. I sprinted the final 100 metres to Busáras faster than an anabolic steroid after a few Red Bulls, only to see the backside of the Galway bus, making fun of me as it drove away.
This guaranteed I would not make the connecting bus to Lettergesh. The next hour was spent trying to figure out what to do, but the mathematical section of my brain was switched off, unplugged and the socket torn from the wall the day I finished my exams. I boarded the 2 p.m. bus with no idea how I would cover the last 50 miles of the journey.
Inspiration struck in Athlone. Time to use my final lifeline: Phone-A-Parent. After some gentle persuasion, my mother agreed to come to the rescue and meet me in Galway. Normally she wouldn't dream of collecting me even from training down the road, but absence obviously does make the heart grow fonder.
Eight hours and 34 minutes after I began my journey, I arrived at Bun a'Ghaoith. In contrast to my mother's welcome, I was greeted with little more than apathy by the rest of the clan.
"What do you want?" spouted one brother. "Do you have my Beano?" asked the other. I wasn't in Ruairí's good books because I had missed his birthday the day before, and this just made matters worse.
Life in Lettergesh continued at the same leisurely pace as it had in Dublin, without some of the usual luxuries. No microwave for hot dogs, no TV for cartoons. At least I had my bed, until my cousins arrived. A whole weekend without TV was hard to handle, but it felt like an achievement. If I put that on my CV, would I get a job?
Living on my own in Dublin, I've really missed my mother's cooking. On arriving home I was presented with a lovely feed of new spuds and Connemara lamb. I know that I'd be lynched and disowned if I failed to mention the majestic meal prepared by my aunt the next day. Follow that with a roast of beef on Sunday . . . I'm drooling just thinking about it! It was worth the journey just for the food.
Dollymount Strand has a unique charm as you look out to sea, knowing that just over the horizon lies a nuclear power plant. Looking out from Lettergesh beach, on the other hand, the skyline is dotted with islands, and white horses dancing their way towards the mainland. The only thing that lies over the horizon is America, and there's a little ocean in between. Twice I entered the wild Atlantic. Twice I ran screaming home.
The nightlife in the area may not be on the same scale as Dublin, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Friday night in the Inn, Saturday in the Den and back to the Inn on Sunday, with the odd pint elsewhere in between. DJ Fiddler played the tunes. His beats may not be huge on the Dublin club scene, but the songs he played had the unique Connemara charm that kept me bopping until early in the morning.
Unsurprisingly, my r&r weekend consisted of little rest and a negligible amount of recuperation. I definitely would have got more sleep at home, but where's the fun in that? Every summer I can remember has been spent in Lettergesh. This year I have had to live elsewhere, but that only makes my visits more valuable. It means that I have to squeeze a summer's worth of fun and games into one weekend.
Time away from home, hurling, and the big smoke is important to me, but Lettergesh has always been an outlet, a place where I can forget all my worries, relax and be happy. It's almost like time away from my life; a chance to let out that inner lunatic that has been dying to break free since he was committed many moons ago!
I came back to Dublin on Tuesday for training, only to get a text from the boss that afternoon saying: "No training 2nite, c u Friday." A whole extra week away, with good food and a beach, down the toilet! The only comfort I can take from it is that it has been bucketing rain in the west all week, but here the sun is occasionally shining!
