Ross Castle: A Dating Story

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On one of my trips to Ireland I met a boy.

His name was Shane.

Cute, right?  Doesn't get more leprechan than that.

The boy and I met at a pub/club one night.  Some of the tourists on my bus walked me there since my sister didn't want to go out.  The club was called "The Crypt" and perhaps that should have been a fair warning to stay away.  We had been staying in Killarney and my dancing feet just didn't want to stay in.

At the end of the night, instead of letting me walk home, the boy offered to drive me.  Because I was once a bit reckless and stupid, I obliged him.

And anyway, he was cute.  Ya'll know how I have a thing for the exports.

And we segwayed with a nightly tour around town.  He showed me the bar where he worked weekends, local eateries that had now closed for the evening, and he took me to Ross Castle.  It was spooky and magical.  I wondered if he would murder me and leave my listless body there.  Would Scotland Yard come looking for me?  Would the mystery of my death ever be solved?

We climbed a gate and walked around the castle. He gave me the history of that dark and spooky place.  And while I know I already mentioned it, I cannot stress enough that he was cute- dark haired and smelling of Irish ale.  We then stood motionless and quiet over the lake that surrounds the castle.  As we stared into the sky, I knew I had never seen as many stars as I had on that night.  They were brilliant.  They were beautiful.

Not long after our tour de' Killarney, he took me back to my hotel where I crept in to slumber with my family.

I think of him when I think of my best moments in Ireland.  If I saw Shane today I would say, "thank you for showing me an exhilirating evening.... and thank you for not killing me."

Want to know more about Ross Castle?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Castle

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