Lá Fhéile Pádraig

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Lá Fhéile Pádraig is Irish for Saint Patrick's Day. I used to know a few words and phrases in Irish but sadly I've forgotten most of them.

Saint Patrick

I miss Ireland and Belfast today. The people, the city and even the weather. I had some amazing times there.
I was a student at Queen's University and worked part time as security at the M club. My friends had a house on Surrey street and I spent almost as much time there as I did in my room at Queen's Elms.

Peter and Cormac in the Botanic Gardens.

Yours truly in the Botanic Gardens.

Random street off the Lisburn road. Black Mountain in the background.

Rikke and me at Giant's Causeway.
Denim jackets and black pants were very cool in 2002.

I miss you crazy bastards. What are you up to these days?

Me and Mary in the living room on Surrey street.

I've just come from a preview screening of the Irish movie "Once". It's fuckin' fantastic, as they say in Ireland.
It's an independent film shot in three weeks with almost no budget that went and won the Oscar for best original song at the Academy Awards earlier this year. Actors Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová wrote and performed all the original songs in the movie.


Hearing the Irish accents made me think of my time in Belfast and all my Irish, American and Canadian friends. Isn't it strange how we lose thouch with people we want to keep in our lives?

Rikke is in Denmark, and we still keep in touch. I know that Niall is a teacher in Manchester and I think that Peter Sumadh still lives in Belfast. I don't know if he is still with Julie, though.

I don't know if things worked out for Mary and Rowan when he followed her to Canada, and I would love to find out what Cormac, Sean, Jen and Kyle are up to these days. I have very fond memories of 16 Surrey Street and Queen's Elms Halls of Residence.