The Liffey at evening.

I returned a week ago from my fourth trip to Ireland, spent mostly in Dublin, this trip, at World Con (a science fiction/fantasy convention). I’m not sure how much I got out of the convention itself, but I went with a writer friend and met many of her friends–very open and friendly people. And that was worth a lot.

Dublin is much changed since I was there last, in 1997. With membership in the EU, it has become a much more international city. On my first morning there, I was astonished by how fast everything–pedestrians and traffic–moved, rushing off to work. It felt more like New York than DC does. I’m very happy for Dublin. But I miss Bewley’s counters and pots of tea made without tea bags. There seem to be a zillion coffee shops, and Grafton street seems to have an awful lot of the same stores we can find in any Mall here in the United States.

But I revisited Dublin haunts I remembered from past trips–the goldsmith, Declan Killen, on Fade Street, where I had bought my Irish knot necklace back in 1986. (I lost it some years later, but managed to trace a photo of it and sent it to him, and he made me a replacement.) This trip, I came to his red door on Fade street. One had to push a button, and he answered and buzzed me in. I went up a long flight of stairs covered with a red carpet, and was greeted at the top of the stairs. He ushered me into his small shop. His jewelry, necklaces, pendants, pins, and a few earrings, are lovely, though mostly beyond my means.  It seems that every twenty years or so, I visit his shop, admire his beautiful work without managing to buy any of it, and nevertheless, on each visit, he offers to–and takes–my silver necklace, and cleans and polishes it for me.

I also accidentally came upon the International Bar on a corner of Wicklow street, where I had had a humorous adventure on that 1986 trip (a story for another time). Lots of nostalgia.  This trip, I was staying in the Temple Bar area along Wellington Quay for some of my time, and on St. Augustine street the rest. I loved waking to the cries of sea gulls in the mornings, and the cool, fresh air. I also loved the Leprechaun Museum which, despite its name, is neither a museum nor a tourist attraction devoted to what Americans would expect Leprechauns to be. Rather, it is a place of Shanachies–storytellers of old Irish myths. We were treated to wonderful tales more performed than merely recited by a terrific, theatrical storyteller named Emily.

There was a guided day-trip to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway town that, due to circumstances beyond our control–weather and some other things–was rather a bust. But we did get to see the Aillwee Cave–which was fascinating: a series of caverns created by underwater rivers cutting through rock over centuries.

But the main piece of Ireland I brought home with me this trip, was the experience of seeing a small exhibit of Martyn Turner’s political cartoons at the entrance to Trinity’s Berkeley Library. I simply had to get a book of them. I tried Easons–they said the books were out of print, and suggested Chapters, which has a used book section. So off I went to Chapters, and found a number of them. I bought two. Turner’s themes mostly relate to Irish politics. But he also addresses world politics. Something clicked in my brain, and I came back with (a) a sudden enthusiasm to write and draw political cartoons; and (b) a zillion ideas pulsing through my brain at once. I had recently signed up to have a Daily Kos Diary, and have now decided to start posting political cartoons there. We’ll see  whether ideas will keep coming to me, how well I can draw them (I do have a style of my own, but I’m not sure how compatible it is with political import), how adeptly I can combine text and pictures to satiric effect, and whether or not I can develop an audience for them. (So far, I have posted two, and have received five recommendations for each.  It is not a lot, but at least someone has SEEN them and, apparently, liked them.) I am excited about this new endeavor. As I grow and develop, I hope to post here what I may learn about the craft and about developing an audience.