Into Narnia

I have entered through the wardrobe, found an old gaslight in the snow and a lion has approached me and welcomed me into the land of Narnia. That is how I have viewed my time in Ireland. For some places in the world, it is the cities that make a country great. The hustle and bustle of an area filled with people and noises, flashing lights and the latest concert or show in billboards above your head inviting you into see the latest stars on stage. In Ireland, it is the opposite. In Ireland it is the land, it is the countryside at where sheep out way the number of people, and the fields are divided by old stone walls- cutting the land unevenly, with sharp and jagged edges.

It is the land that is the inspiration behind the stories of fantasy and whimsy, and it is easy to see why. The cliffs are a shear drop into the ocean below, the idea of the fall makes grown men hug their backs against the closest pillar, or leads them to  drag themselves on their bellies and look over to see how far down is down.

The trees are alive with age. In one place they line the road, their branches reaching up in order to touch the adjacent tree, becoming a gateway to a forgotten road, or a kingdom. The roads are still paths and the people walking them are at ease and warm.

Old churches stand without their roofs, castle towers aloof and alone, and the tombstones lean in the direction of the wind. There are islands that only house eight hundred people, all around them the ruins of times long ago. The world’s smallest church sits on top looking out to those who’ll make the trek to see it. It preaches its sermons to the cows that graze below.

Rocks are piled on top of rocks, forming walls, and battlements, they sit on the cliffs, so very, very close to the ocean below. You may go to the edge but if you fall in, well that’s your own fault. You shouldn’t have gone so close to the edge.

Ireland’s beauty comes from everything. It feels old and alive much like those trees, it’s all natural, letting those who wish be welcomed in, much like the people that live there.

The children in Narnia had to go back to their world at the end of the book, but those who have read all the way to the end, know that they come back to stay.