On Sunday, Sept. 9, I took a local train, one of the last of its kind in Ireland, to the small coastal town of Cobh (said Cove) on the opposite end of the great Cork Bay from Kinsale. I was joined by lots of Polish families and others as well, strollers and kids in tow because one stop before Cobh is a safari theme park with tigers, and monkeys, and elephants.This is the port from where so many starving Irish famine victims set sail for America. I have noticed that unlike the rest of the world, the Irish call it America, not the United States. A subtle difference there that reminds me what we once were to others, the beacon of light we shone into the darkness.
Following the famine trail became a theme, not consciously chosen, but perhaps the Irish are emphasizing it now that they have put enough time and space between what they were and what they have become, real contenders.
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