The Irish Story Teller

05 September 1992: Stephen Dirrane worked as a chef in New York restaurants for twenty years. Then he came back home – to Ireland. There, he did what he did best: cook. Only this time it was for the guests of Tigh Gilbert, his lovely guest house on Inishmore, the largest of the three Aran Islands. Located thirty miles off the coast of western Ireland, they have guarded the entrance to Galway Bay since time began.

I visited the biggest of the three, Inishmore. At about eight miles long and two miles wide, this stoically rugged and beautiful wind-whipped island is home to forty pre-Christian and early Christian architectural remains, along with ancient forts and nearly 900 Irish speaking inhabitants who live on farms scattered among over 6,000 miles of stone walls. These open-faced lovely people perpetuate a heritage of self-sufficiency and culture passed from generation to generation for hundreds of years. They greet you in Irish with, "Cead Mile Failte!" ("A hundred thousand welcomes!")

I first met Stephen in the summer of 1992 when I hiked/bussed from one end of Ireland to the other. To get to Inishmore, I booked "The Happy Hooker" ferry from Doolin, the traditional music capital of Ireland. It was a wild two-hour roller-coaster ride across the windy and cold sea.to Kilronan, the main village on the island. I rented a bicycle for $6.50 a day and pedaled about two miles to the guest house. It was there that I first met Stephen, who rented me a single room for $16.00. The house had an old world atmosphere. The dishes and cups and mirrors on the white painted walls seem to give off a light of their own that was reflected in the dark wood trim and dining tables, and finally absorbed by the soft couches and chairs.

He introduced me to the half-dozen other guests as suppertime arrived. And what a supper! We had steak, potatoes, vegetables and ice cream, all served family style. It was surely the best meal I had in all of Ireland.

Afterwards, we gathered like castaways around a glowing turf fire. Outside, it was a windy and cool early September evening. But inside, there was no television, no radio and no noise except the chiming of the grandfather clock on the quarter-hour. Oliver, Stephen's dog, was always within range of the fire’s glow. We took turns reciting our favorite poem or singing our favorite song. I listened to my new friends from all over Ireland converse, recite poetry, and sing both in English and in the warmth of the ancient Irish language. It was strictly English for me and the guest from Toronto. Stress was a foreign word to all.

Seventy-year-old Stephen, our host, looked very much like a very tired, very pre-occupied Albert Einstein with his great gray mustache and balding head. He loved the Aran Islands and the Irish-Gaelic language and seemed to be waging a one-man campaign to keep the ancient language alive by memorizing and reciting poetry in that beautiful language to all who would listen. He was a unique man, a modern-day seanachie (Irish storyteller) who sat by the fire and enchanted his audience with tales of times past. He would spontaneously burst into poetry, becoming totally lost in whatever long-past Irish era the poem represented – and carry us along with him. (Later, I learned that he played the part of a canoeman in the 1934 British fictional documentary, Man of Aran.)

My stay at Tigh Gilbert was the highlight of my Irish journey. It was a spiritual and emotional journey through time and this beautiful green land. I met smiling people and their music and poetry everywhere I went. I still feel the glow of the fire and the warmth of the words from Yeats' "The Lake Isle of Innisfree", as spoken by Martha, a guest from Dublin…

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; …

Thank you Stephen for being Stephen and for preserving Ireland. May God bless you always.

Author Patrick Simpson and his wheelchair-restricted wife Anne uncover their experiences exploring historical and cultural experiences around the world. Visit now to learn how independent travel for disabled persons is not only possible, it can be fun!! www.booksbypatricksimpson.com

LINKS:
Aran Islands
Doolin
Irish-Gaelic language
Man of Aran