Back in Kilkenny, and back to the same old banter of bed-desk-coffee-desk-lunch-desk-coffee-desk-dinner-desk-bed. All this FE-1-ing is disgustingly Leaving Cert like: the constant worry, the mammy tip-toeing around the house and making tae to comfort me, the mountains of material, the ‘will-this-ever-end’ feeling, and the friends/extended loved ones not knowing what to say to cheer me up, but reassuring me that “It’ll be grand, once you’ve these over, I’ll celebrate with you by putting in a few public order offences, just to get you a little gig”. With friends like these, who needs clients?
Nonetheless, the GAAfia and all at Chez Reilly have been nothing short of heroic over the past few weeks. I’d come to expect it from the GAAfia - the parents are very generous and patient with finances/time/love/foodstuffs/tae; the brother doesn’t really get it, but really tries (which is vital!); and the flying B (as Tayto calls us), the sisters, are just wonderful as per, with Nicks ensuring there is a Musical score sung daily and Ors (angel) calling me up with a bleedin’ prep rally of enthusiasm and lurve. I’m a lucky baby Brennan. Meanwhile in Meath, the in-laws are being just as super - Momma Reilly swept Shelley and I off to the Ultimate Girls Day out on Saturday (more on this later) and Poppa Reilly took us all out of dinner later in the evening to treat Dave and I from impending academic hoo-haa and misery (Baby Reilly is going into Fifth Year…agh). So hurrah for family at this time.
And Gav? Well there’s going to be some sort of ceremony when I’m done with these meanies. I’m calling it MVP in Ciara v. the Exams, and he may be in with a shot. He took me to Town Bar Grill (best restaurant in Dublin by a country - ok, urban - mile) the other night for oysters and steak (yummy!) and we had a lovely night, haven’t been as chilled out in ages. He’s home with me for a night or two and we’re headng into town to see the KK team train later. What a date!
So where have I been since our last encounter? Well we returned from Kerry fairly emotionally zonked to be honest. Gav was taken on a tour of the O’Connor family history/lineage and unfortunately that involved many graveyards and difficult moments for all concerned. But he saw all the houses/pubs/schools/GAA fields of note and met most of the other side of the family - and they, of course, loved him. It’s just so nice to get to Kerry, and to be together in places that envoke the strongest childhood memories. We went into the Plaza to see the Roses, had a sticky bun in Charlie Nelligan’s in Castleisland, and we drove the bótharíns of Scartaglin and Currow and saw Nanny O’Connor’s house. I’m blessed to have such roots, and I hope to be back before the year is out. (Especially since I’ve the few bob to fly down: we left Farranfore at 8.16pm on Saturday and we were in our door in Stillorgan at 9.59pm Brennan Time. And it was cheaper than the train, thank you very much O’Leary indeed.) The wedding itself was a lovely affair, and it was nice to catch up with all my cousins who are, on the whole, married and with childer, as I am the baby of the O’Connor cousins.
Some photees of the occassion:
Incidentally, I can’t flipping believe it’s nearly a year since I graduated:
…and here I am, still studying. Sigh. First year in 4 I haven’t been involved in Orientation in UCD in some way. Strange. I do miss it, and yet… no. Time moves on.
Was absolutely transfixed by the Roses. Just alarmingly so. I picked the winner (first time I ever backed Tipp in anyway I can assure you) and won €22.50 (nice) on PP for my troubles. How bad? Harmless fun. A few things of note:
- The days of the mini-skirt under the long gúna for dancing is gone.
- You don’t need a talent anymore to win.
- You can be lovely and very intelligent at the same time (fuck you, Claire Byrne) and
- Ray is a very underwhelming presenter.
I’m trying to make Gav go for Escort of the Year next year, he’d be great. Encourage him please!
Wasn’t it just great news about David O’Doherty? What a charming, lovely and hilarious man. By far and away the nicest funnyman out there, he always treats the vounteers at the Cat Laughs exceptionally well and he couldn’t have been lovelier in UCD last year, even when we had to find food for him 15mins before he went on stage and a burnt pizza from the Student Bar was the only thing on offer. I heart niceness. I’ve seen him perform about 10 times at this stage, and I’m Ciara Brennan and I fully support this commerical.
Speaking of which… Palin. You old dog. The award for Best-Steal-of-the-Bounce-in-a-Presidential-Election goes to… McCain! The old will-he-kick-it obviously thinks he’s got foreign and national security experience down, so a little domestic lady who is “more into her gun than her mascara” (quoth, no shit, Palin’s mother) was the way to go. There’s a lot to like from a Republican standpoint. She lives her pro-life Pollyanna views (lest her beautiful Down’s Syndrome baby be pulled into this, again), she thumps her Bible in tune to her pilates tape, she’s girly but gritty, female but not a feminist. All fine on paper, till you see her voting record.
She opposes abortion for rape and incest victims, supporting it only in cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
- She’s against contraception
- Is a member of Feminists for Life (/dies)
- She supported the 1998 constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
- She supports the death penalty
- She’s an NRA member
I do like her ethics stance though. Meh. I really wish I could be more excited, but I’m not. I just hate the fact that this is pandering to women, it really is. I have never come across a female politician that has truly represented my views. I have voted many times for many positions, at different codes, various elections. And I’ve never voted with a gender issue on my mind. Because abortion and social welfare payments aren’t gender issues. They’re financial, societal, but not gender related. Who is to say also, that a male politican would, shock horror, represent women’s view equally to that of the male oppressor? I don’t need to be black to know that Aparthied was bad for South Africa. All this is truly one step forward and three steps back for women. I just hope those who support Palin support her for her views (God help us) and not her gender.
But it’s a great choice for McPain, just perfect to get those on the swing to see he’s still willing to challenge the Republican status quo but isn’t about to forego his base of support on traditional home values. He’s picked someone young, vibrant, a minority… why were we shocked again?
This week I read a Cathy Kelly. There are no words. This is not just overhyped clit-lit bullshit: this is overhyped, overpriced, Mills and Boon clit-lit bullshit. There is, simply, no way that one person can have that many affairs.
Anyways. The Road to Croker is fast reaching destination. AHHHH. There is much I want to say. And yet. Next Year. Next Year. Next year, this blog will be a truly honest account of my GAA beliefs and creed. But ’til then I must be the obediant daughter and not hang anyone out to dry. Suffice it to say, I’m happy.
And no, I don’t have spare tickets.
What would Leo do? … or rather, what should Obama be doing?
