Keep Left Except to Pass
Celebrating Pride in Dublin
A joyful coda to a great trip
My wife and I had just completed a three-week tour around the entire south coast of Ireland. The people, food, and scenery were outstanding. Still, we were glad to be rid of our rental car after 1,100 miles of driving on the wrong side of the road.
Centuries old ruins just kept showing up as we drove.
We were six months into the Trump disaster. It was such a pleasure to be exploring this beautiful country. We were aware that they had just elected a gay Taoiseach (Prime Minister), and had legalized same-sex marriage in 2015. We were also aware of and surrounded by the deep history of Catholicism. This made Ireland’s progress towards equality all the more remarkable.
We didn’t have to make plans to visit incredible landmarks. Centuries-old ruins just kept showing up as we drove.
Beginning our journey, I drove for the first three hours. I pulled off a little side road so that my wife could get some experience driving on the left. This was the first of many lucky breaks that trip. Looking for a place to stop and trade seats, we stumbled on the 13th-century ruins of Dunbrody Abbey:
The rest of the trip was full of similar surprises. On our final Friday, we drove across the country, from Westford to Dublin (150 miles).
On Saturday morning we visited Dublin Castle.
It seemed like just a normal weekend in a beautiful city.
The trip to Ireland did not include the expectation of great food. But of course, an island nation should have incredible seafood, which it did. The big surprise was how even small pubs employed excellent chefs and took great pride in the quality and presentation of their dishes. There was so much more than fish and chips.
After lunch, we just wandered the streets.
We had our first inkling that something unusual was happening when we saw this:
Still, this could be normal for Dublin. We didn’t know. It wouldn’t be all that shocking in most American cities, would it? A few minutes later we rounded the corner and found ourselves smack in the middle of an exuberant, colorful crowd.
While the Trump administration was back home trying to dismantle Obama care, destroy our relationship with Europe, and keep brown people from entering the United States, the people of Dublin were celebrating unity and tolerance. We were thrilled to be there and share in the festivities.
This was a huge gathering. The parade lasted well over an hour, an impressive turnout of young and old alike.
We had two more days to enjoy the sights and food of Dublin. As we were preparing to leave, we learned that the United States Supreme Court had just overturned all state bans on same-sex marriage.
I take pictures in Germany, too:
