My grandfather was born in that neck of the woods, which means that I am in the most fortunate position to have a bolthole right on the edge of the Atlantic.
Ireland is not a sun-holiday destination and certainly nowhere on the western seaboard is sun-splashed. It would be a silly person who would go to Kerry or Cork looking for the sun.
I have just spent three magical weeks lapping up the waters of the Atlantic.
August and September must be the best months of the year for swimming in Irish waters. My father always said that September was the optimum time for sea swimming in Ireland. He had some theory that September was also the healthiest time to swim in the sea. That might well be a pishogue but I have fond memories of his explaining to me something about the health factor of iodine and seaweed in the water in September. Salt water is regarded as a spiritual cleansing in many cultures.
But certainly the water where I was swimming this August was like a bathtub.
I went swimming at least once a day and on many days twice.
Was swimming in the rain, wind and even in the darkness. It was a matter of catching the full tide.
There is something therapeutic about the water and swimming.
It really has a healing influence on our bodies and minds. I'm not at all talking about hectic or fast swimming. I'm speaking of taking it easy in the water, changing from crawl to butterfly to breaststroke and then to backstroke. Simply floating atop the water and looking above you, straight into the sky is relaxation par excellence. Just lolling about in the water is the best of therapies.
The view that I had from where I was swimming was exactly as it would have been when my father, his parents and their parents before them were swimming there. Indeed, I swam with my dad in that very spot when he was 92 years old.
Whether it's the Atlantic or the Irish Sea, we are blessed to have such a natural resource at our doorstep.
I know the Kerry team make good use of their beaches. It helped yesterday.
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