Hugh, chill out here in bachelor country
God be with the days when it would have taken Red Hugh O’Donnell a whole month to negotiate the Slieve Bloom Mountains on his way to Munster. And, not so long ago, our own fathers beguiled us with stories of travelling by horse and cart or Raleigh bicycle through thick and thin (and the odd pub) to catch Christy Ring or Nicky Rackard and their fathers before them, sustained by nothing but mugs of scalding tea and sides of lamb provided by complete strangers who turned out to be long-lost cousins or IRA men on the run. Children had outgrown their short pants by the time their fathers returned from these escapades... or the Emergency, as it was often called.
Now, if Hugh were to travel by horseback, he could do the trip in four days or so, with lodging provided in places like the Horse and Jockey in Borris-in-Ossory for €50 a night, plus expenses for the horse, and a crowner of a meal in Sal’s Diner or Josephine’s in Urlingford. The whole thing (€250 to €300) could be written off to expenses and that would put the wind up Iarnrod Éireann and teach them not to skimp on the pots of Oolong or whatever they call that stuff from the depths of the urn. You might even get to appreciate a day on the bog, siding turf or getting to know some of the girls here in bachelor country.
