It is a miracle that Auntie Annie O'Sullivan ever made the connection with our long-lost O'Sullivan relations in Killarney as the name is everywhere in Kerry. In the space of 100 metres in the main street of Kilarney there is O'Sullivan's Bike Sales & Service, O'Sullivan the accountant, O'Sullivan Photograpy, O'Sullivan's Pharmacy, and O'Sullivan's Bike & Outdoor Shop, then at Beaufort Bridge I turned down the road to the old O'Sullivan farm, beside O'Sullivan's Foodstore................
So I found my old Irish cousin, Danny O'Sullivan who at 90 years old is still milking his 18 cows twice daily in his modern cowshed, except when they are dried off in Dec/Jan for calving - scarily he is still driving too. He is full of the Irish blarney, and despite my only understanding 1/3 of what he said because of the thick Irish brogue, he regaled me non-stop for three hours with tales of family folk-lore. His mother was a great cook apparently, and meals for 15 were no problem - often including many Republicans on the run......... As a small boy he was drilled in not telling anything to anybody, especially the Black and Tans, even an especially Irish saying, "Mister, there's not even a house where I live.." We also had a very pious cousin called James who used to come to Danny (a lifelong teetotaller) early in the evening before a visit to the pub so "I can say my Rosary now in case I'm too drunk to say it when I get home.." On the day of Danny's Confirmation he walked two miles early in the morning there and back to do his farm work, put on his best suit then walked four miles there and back for his confirmation, came home, took off the best suit and helped with the milking!! Obviously a recipe for a long healthy life...
The new house that Danny built in the 1950s stands beside the stone house that O'Sullivans lived in probably for hundreds of years - Republicans on the run and all - it is now used as a farm outbuilding and the old kitchen fireplace is used for an activity that would give Kevin the horrors. He feeds his cows silage in winter, so every few days there is a large plastic and netting cover to dispose of. Danny gave me the prime fireside seat to warm myself as he prepared his ritual. A sheet of newspaper in the fireplace was splashed with diesel from the tractor with a brush and an old paint tin - 90-year-old Danny then lit this, and when it didn't burn so well, more diesel was splashed all around. He was very pleased with himself that he was drying me off after our ramble through the muddy farmyard, while I was trying to edge myself discreetly away from the roaring flames!!!!!
However despite these activities he is a very spry fellow and wonderfully full of stories. The surrunding Kerry countryside is very beautiful and quite like New Zealand in many ways. Echoes of the past were noted in the sign outside the cathedral in the evening where there was a benefit concert for "Homeless Kerry Emigrants in England" - despite the Celtic Tiger there must still be some who fall through the cracks.
So a few Irish beers, and a quick and too-brief drive through the stunning countryside, and onto Ryanair back to London.
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