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DoChara's Ireland Blog
Random Writings about Ireland and the Irish
Sunday
June 4 2006
The Traditional, the Modern
If the crowds at Emo Court for the National Country Fair today are anything to go by, traditional country pursuits in Ireland are not just surviving but thriving.
It was a terrific family day out, with everything from Pony Club games to Cossak riding, fly-fishing to hot air ballooning, archery to wellie tossing and too much more to go into, gathering entususiastic crowds of spectators.
On the Lake at Emo Court
Emo Court is a fantastic location of course, with ample space to absorb a massive number of people without ever seeming crowded. Standing on the steps of the house it was easy to see why the Earl of Portarlington chose that site to have Gandon create his trophy house - the view is spectacular. Remarkably it is also bungalow free, quite a rarity nowadays.
It would be a mistake to think that mad rush for development has bypassed the area though. Nearby Killinard is a place that has always been special in our family. Both sides of the family have roots there and many of them are buried in the lush hillside graveyard beside its pretty church. It used to be a real backwater, just the church really, no shops or school or anything like that, barely enough to call a village.
Now you round the bend to find suburbia plonked at the side of a country road. Granted it is imbeccibly manicured upmarket suburbia, clustered around the inevitable golf and country club. But there are literally hundreds of houses and huge hoardings advertising the imminent release of penthouse apartments onto the market.
Penthouse apartments in Killinard!! It really is difficult for me to get my head around that one. And chances are the only rural pursuit the residents of these penthouses will be engaged in is a newly traditional one - the daily commute to and from Dublin.
Comments on "The Traditional, the Modern"
Posted by: Wendy
6 June 2006
Wellie tossing?!? Must. Hear. More!
Posted by: Katherine
6 June 2006
A wellie is a Wellington Boot - or a gumboot. The set up and rules are much like pole vaulting, except instead of jumping the crossbar you toss your wellie over it!!
It's a serious sport - really! At least grown men were taking it very seriously indeed while we were watching.
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