80 going on 21
Birthdays!, Deep Thoughts, Memories 7 Comments »Long ago in the hills of Lough Gur Ireland a Prince who’s father, The Earl of Desmond and Mother Queen Áine placed a spell on the boy to teach him a lesson. He had the ability to take any shape or form and was turned into the last thing he was which was a raven. To break the spell he had to ride his horse around the lake 1 time every 7 years until the horses silver shoes wore down and broke. Only then would the spell be broken, and he would be free to change back to himself. Some say the spell is broken, and he swims with his mothers spirit around the lake in the form of a swan. Others say he still rides around the lake, every 7 years. Queen Áine died and was buried on the hill my Nana lives on. She was buried with her large treasure of gold. That treasure and her grave have never been found.
These are the kinds of stories my Nana would tell me before bedtime when I spent the summers at her home in Country Limerick. My imagination would run wild at the ideas of finding such a thing. I would get up early in the mornings and roam the hills looking for clues. I would dig holes for hours and days all over the country side. I have made many a farmer mad, been chased by my fair share of bulls, I have been stuck in barbed wire, shocked by electric fences, you name it I did it. All to find a treasure.
My Nana turns 80 today. She is by far the most entertaining woman I have ever known. She has given me some of the best memories of my childhood in Ireland. I spoke with her earlier and she had a suprise party this past weekend. They did a big thing at Bunratty Castle,they did not get home till 5:30am. That’s what I mean, she rolls like that, and she is 80! Happy Birthday Nana, thank you for all the wonderful stories that I will get to tell Desmond for years to come. His imagination will run wild just like mine. I just hope I can tell the stories as well as you did.














