June 13, 2012

Day 24: Roscommon, Ireland

For most of the day today we hung around and relaxed at Dec’s house. We ran a few errands out to the shop, walked Lady and visited Dec’s grandmother (who was fantastic!) as well.

Declan had a game at 8p, so he got ready and left around 7. I sat down to dinner with the fam and had liver (for the first time!) and mashed potatoes. The liver was good and was served with a really nice gravy. I also discovered that contrary to what I had myself convinced of previously, I actually do like brown sauce- which I ate with the mashed potatoes.

Afterwards, Fintan, Pat (Dec’s dad) and I got into the car and went over to the pitch for Declan’s game. I’d never been to a gaelic football match before and was told I’d be in for a treat (a treat filled with lots of profanity & violence, nonetheless). And what an accurate description that was.

The game was really fast paced and very interesting to watch- I got the hang of it after the first half (I think) and had a pretty good idea of what was going on. I was taken aback by the amount of yelling and swearing that was happening without any penalties (anyone from the states who’s ever played sports knows we have to do that kind of stuff when the refs aren’t looking and no one can hear you. No such thing in this game.) The players, coaches, and even fans were all very much involved in the play. It was great to see such passion for the sport itself!

I brought my camera along and took some photos (with Fintan’s help, too!) of the match. I was also asked to send them along to one of the men who runs the Club’s website- my first dabble in the field of official photography, I guess!

Declan was originally planning on going back to Sligo for the night for work the next day but changed his shift to the later one and stayed one more night in Roscommon. We skyped Alex for a bit and called it a night a bit past midnight!

Favorite part of the day: Most definitely Declan's game! Super fun to watch :)