Sliver Bridge

12-13

Silver Bridge

Wow what a bizarre day. Today I left Ann’s house for the last time. It was really sad. She’s been a great host mom. I really couldn’t have asked for more. Little crazy yes, but then again who isn’t and aren’t things better when they’re a little off kilter? I remember pulling up to her house the first day and just being in complete amazement and full of joy that I was there. I don’t think I was ever let down.

I left that morning and headed out to Silver Bridge. Took Ulster Bus to Newry and then transferred to a Local bus to Silverbridge. I missed the 12:00 bus so I had to wait till 1 to get the bus. Took about half an hour or 45 min to get there. It’s amazing. It’s a little tiny town with a grocery store/gas station, a pub, a coffee shop and a Chinese restaurant (yeah not really sure what’s up with that one).

I got off the bus and walked around a bit trying to find the cemetery that Dad had told me about. I wasn’t able to, but really wasn’t to concerned. The whole time I was just thinking about how many times my ancestors walked up and down these same roads, on that same place. It was amazing. I stopped in the pub for a pint and to ask directions. I walked in and felt exactly like the ever-present outsider in Irish lit. Everyone Kinda looked at me with this strange little look that said “who on earth is he?” I was sitting at the pub when an old guy at the end of the bar said “cold night” and I said “yeah, yeah it is” and he said “…Are you a Yank?” And our relationship took off from there. I asked him for directions to the two cemeteries and he gave them too me along with a little bit of history.

The cemetery that the Irvin’s are buried in (he said he thought that they would be in a certain one that I can’t remember the name of) is in the churchyard of the oldest serving church in Ireland. We’re also buried in the same burial ground as the O’Neil clan, the old Kings of Ireland.

As it turns out it was to far to walk because the sunset was setting so I wasn’t able to make it out there which made me sad. But I figure I’ll be back soon, and I’ll have adventures in Silverbridge.

His wife walked in and I asked if they knew the Toals. They said yeah that Michael and Margaret lived up the way and their son lived just down the road. They walked me up to the house but they weren’t home. They had built a new house and – I figured that they had knocked down the old family house. Fortunately I was wrong, but I didn’t find out until after dark so I missed out on the house as well.

The family didn’t want me just hanging out for the bus so they took me into their house and we had some tea. I love the Irish. Their names were the Kennedy’s and they were great people. They were really interested in my studies at school and what I thought of “the republic” and “the free state” – I’m thinking they had republican leanings.

The pub actually had been blown up by the IRA after they rushed in and gunned down a 14 year old boy, a man who had just been engaged, a man celebrating the birth of his first daughter as well as his friend. To think that that kind of violence could take place in a town that doesn’t even have a church and to me seemed so peaceful and perfect shocks and horrifies me. With 3,600 dead in the troubles and 1.5 million in NI everyone has a story, each just as heart breaking as the next.

I caught the bus home and stayed the night at my friend Chris’. We made spaghetti which was fantastic. There’s just something about bread, meat, cheese and pasta that makes everything perfect.