"Outside Clifden" pen & ink 6 x 6

Way back in 1989, I surprised my Mom with a 60th birthday trip to Ireland.  We spent a fabulous ten days driving up and down the west coast, from Shannon to Lahinch out to Clifden, than back and south to Galway, Saltill, Kenmare, Kilarney, Dingle, Ballybunion among other places. We covered a lot of ground. I am so blessed that we had the time together. 

Both Mom and I agreed that many times on our trip we opened our mouths to say hello to someone we knew realizing at the last second that we didn't know them at all.  They were another in a series of Irish doppelgangers (talk about crossing the language streams) for American friends or relatives who are just a fistful of generations from Ireland.  

Here's a sketch of some tractors at rest on the road outside Clifden, and a photo of Mom on our trip.

Thanks for looking.