OPINION: A trip into the past

Tomorrow, I will be off on another international adventure as I fly into Dublin for a week in Ireland.

I know what you’re thinking - didn’t you just get back from an international vacation? Didn’t you go to Ireland last year? Yes to both accounts.

Unfortunately, this trip will be more “business” than pleasure, but I’m sure we’ll find time for both.

My husband Patrick’s great-aunt Gae passed away this summer after a long life in Ireland. Patrick’s dad’s side of the family is from Ireland. We will be staying only 20 minutes outside Athlone in County Westmeathe, his dad’s hometown.

It’s been a difficult road for the Roche side of the family, both my father-in-law’s parents and his sister passed young. Patrick never got the chance to meet any of them.

Everything she left behind goes to my husband and his two brothers. We will be going to Ireland to clean our her home, preserve the memories and sell the house.

Martin, my father-in-law, went over to visit Gae every few years, more frequently the last few since we knew her time was coming.

Just a few months ago, my brothers-in-law went over to transcribe her stories, especially those of her father, a member of the Irish Republican Army. They also took time to identify names in family photos so the history would not be lost with Gae.

I met her last year when I made my first trip to Ireland. Like every good Irish man or woman, she was adamant I sit down and have a cup of tea. Who am I to deny such a good hostess?

When you go through Ireland, especially Dublin or Galway, you’ll see lots of traditional Irish Aran sweaters for sale. It’s a thick knit sweater with a specific pattern, and they can be quite costly.

We were never tempted by the sweaters because Gae hand knit sweaters for years. Patrick remembers being sent a sweater every year for Christmas. When we met, she gifted me my first Aran sweater - a gray cardigan version complete with pockets.

The Aran Sweater is named after the set of islands off Ireland’s west coast where it was first created many generations ago. The Aran Islands are located at the mouth of Galway Bay on the Atlantic Sea and are where fishermen and farmers dwelled and worked together.

Naturally, the men would get cold fishing on the Atlantic, so the women would knit them sweaters to keep them warm. Though it may have simple origins, the sweaters have since been passed down through generations to be considered the ultimate Irish clan heritage symbol. It is still very popular today in many knitting circles and is also worn by those who appreciate its origin and symbolism.

I’m excited for a second chance to visit Ireland, though we won’t see many of the tourist destinations we saw last time. Though we got to see the Cliffs of Mohr, Galway, Clonmacnoise, Trinity College and Guiness, It wasn’t a great time for me personally as I had just suffered a miscarriage the day before leaving.

We won’t be on the coast this time as Athlone and Moate are in the center of the Republic of Ireland, but I’m hoping to make a trip to Limerick to see St. John’s Castle.

And of course, I will be doing my best to convince the boys to take me to a bookstore. I love seeing the UK covers of my favorite books.

One of the tasks I have been appointed to carry out is cataloging and selling her pristine collection of vintage movie posters, including an original “Gone with the Wind” poster. So if you’re in the market, you’ll have to send me an email.

What I’m really hoping for is a big stash of Aran sweaters waiting to be added to my closet. One thing’s for certain, I will spend too many nights in a pub drinking Rockshore ciders.