In Ballyferriter I listened to storytellers, jumped over waves in the freezing February sea, learned the "West Kerry set dance" (a set dance is similar to a square dance in the US) from wonderful teacher Christy MacGearailt, spoke Irish, and went to church mass on Sunday! When asking a long-time set dancer what their favorite thing about set dancing is, she replied that it is how social it is. Most counties have set dancing, and even West, North, East, and South Kerry have their own sets. If you make a friend in a community, they are more than happy for you to tag along to set dance hall events across Ireland. Irish people, first and foremost, are some of the most generous people you will ever meet.
Kerry is very near Cork and is lovely because it's surrounded by mountains, mist, and sheep (usually found all at once).
Kilkenny on St. Patrick's Day
Of course, it being March, we have to talk about St. Patrick's Day! While it is said that St. Patrick's Day isn't as celebrated in Ireland, this is actually false. They may not dye the rivers green, but in Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is a bank holiday, meaning that business and school's are out so that we can all go enjoy local and sometimes enormous parades (talking about Dublin). Many Dubliners have told me that on the day, they generally plan to watch the parade on the TV and take it easy.
Irish phrase: Táim ag féachaint ar an teilifís. I am watching (on the) TV.
St. Patrick is known as the man who 'drove the snakes out of Ireland.' But of course, there were never any snakes in Ireland. Snakes here are symbolic of paganism. St.
