how to spend 24 hours in Ireland
change your flight and extend the trip for at least a week why would you only be there for 24 hours
Yes, the rumors are true: I went to Ireland — my homeland, my heartland, my … island. A country full of greenery and rain and cows and sheep and fairies and dreams and promises and Colin Farrell and a little old man with Bernese Mountain Dogs. It’s beautiful.
Almost six years ago, I lived in Dublin for a semester and fell in love with it in the same way that I love Chicago. The community and the culture are so important to the Irish all over the island, which makes you want to be part of it. The buildings are beautiful, and the music can make you cry, but the best thing about the Irish is their humor. I think the Irish are the funniest people in the world. My favorite shows are Irish, and my favorite comedy writers are Irish, and the way the Irish converse is stuff you wish you wrote.
The other day, I was walking down Dame Street, and two men were saying goodbye to each other when one of them goes, “It was great to see ya.” When he turned around and walked away, he said under his breath, “Cunt.” I mean, that is just beautiful dialogue. It’s an Emmy winner.
A few days before, my uncle and I drove with my cousin’s leetle toddler to a beautiful beach that we believed was connected to a home that we had to drive past to get to it. The old man who owned the house was working on his boat in his yard, and his Border Collie was herding the cows. When we parked the car on the side, my uncle said to the man, “We’re just gonna walk on this beach a little, if that’s okay,” to which the old man replied, “Well, that’s what it’s there for!” That’s not as funny as the man who said “cunt,” but it’s still funnyyyyy.
Side note: something else that’s so funny is this phone call I had a couple of weeks ago that I just remembered. I was on the phone with Apple because my mom didn’t recognize a charge she got.
ME: Hi, my mom doesn’t recognize this charge.
APPLE: Can we talk to your mom?
ME: No, she’s Deaf.
APPLE: Oh. I’m so sorry.
ME: It’s … ok?
APPLE: …
APPLE: Uhhh, my condolences to your whole family —
ME: Oh, my god, no, she’s Deaf not dead, like, she can’t hear you.
APPLE: Oh, my god.
ME: Oh, my god.
APPLE: Okay, so we can’t talk to her.
ME: … No, she’s Deaf.
I just needed to mention that before I forgot it again. That’s a real conversation. An Apple employee thought she was gonna have to comfort me while I reached out about my mother’s dying wish: that I find out what that charge was about.
Irish people are so funny!!!! Here are some of my favorite Irish shows:
This Way Up — stars my favorite Irish comedy writers Aisling Bea and Sharon Horgan; I don’t know how people still don’t know about this show it’s the best
Bad Sisters — an award-winning cast of Irish ladies and a Gleeson brother that’s a murder mystery in a great way; second season out in November so go watch the first NOW
Derry Girls — I’m sure I’m the 30th person to tell you to watch this show, so you better give in because no one will give up on trying to get you to watch this show
Catastrophe — another Sharon Horgan show featuring Carrie Fisher in her final role outside of the Star Wars franchise; I was so bummed when this one ended
Fleabag — I know this is written by a British lady known by the name of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, but she’s dating Martin McDonagh who is one of the greatest screenwriters of our time and also has Irish heartthrob Andrew Scott playing a hot priest in it … so this counts as an Irish show
You’re going to like all of these shows. There’s simply no way you won’t. And if you don’t like them, that’s just you supporting the monarchy once again and going against everything Ireland has fought for.
Okay, still not convinced?
How bout now? Go watch the shows.
Ireland — or even Dublin, really — is a place that I feel people sleep on when they’re thinking about traveling. I was lucky enough to stay at a cozy house in Connemara in County Galway with some family members this past week which allowed me time to do nothing and also time to enjoy the land (and the Guinness). We rode bikes on the Aran Islands, took long walks through the hills, and listened to trad music at a pub in the town over. It was a perfect few days.
And when that part of the trip was over, we went to a city that I love so much — Dublin. Now, I know for a FACT that Dublin gets slept on, and it drives me Crazy. Of course, everyone’s gonna get tired of the tourist spots in any major city. I’m sure the Irish hate Temple Bar as much as New Yorkers hate Times Square. But I didn’t live in Temple Bar; I lived in the Liberties. And I don’t know how the Irish feel about the Liberties now, but I lovedddd the Liberties. Actual people lived there, and there were pubs and restaurants and cafés that I could hang out in every day and not get tired of it. All of Ireland is great, but I love Dublin, and I will die on that cliff (of Moher).
Wouldn’t it be fun if I wrote Circle Back from Dublin every week because I lived there? Wouldn’t that be something …
Well, until then! This is all for now. I’m getting over a cold and can’t think, like, at all and can’t be funny, so this is Circle Back this week. All I’ve been doing since I got back on Friday is watching movies and shows, and I actually don’t think I’ve sat down and done something like that this entire year. Of what I’ve seen in the last 73 hours, here are my recs:
Wicked Little Letters (2023) — starring Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley: funny and easy to watch
The Fall Guy (2024) — starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt: this was actually so fun to watch, and I would watch it again
The Perfect Couple (2024) — this is a limited series on Netflix that I binged yesterday, and I’m not saying it’s the best show ever, but it was a star-studded cast and a fun murder-mystery
I Used To Be Funny (2023) — Rachel Sennott is the next big thing, and I love watching everything she does
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) — This was a surprisingly good movie, but I will never give a Tom Cruise film 5 stars and I stand by that
So far, that’s all I’ve watched and enjoyed (so far? jesus christ, Kerry, that’s like one million movies and shows IT DOESN’T MATTER).
Have a good weekend, lil lassies and lassos and lasstheys!
movie rec: what, you need another one
music rec: The Dubliners or The Corrs they’re basically the same band — I was doing a Wikipedia spiral on Luke Kelly and The Dubliners and thought this was funny:
And then this was maybe two sentences later:
Like, yes, this had been mentioned previously.
insult rec: feckin eejit