From the Library: Ireland, a Bicycle and a Tin Whistle

 There are two things in the title of this book that I have been pretty fond of for most of my life. Sure, I could play a pretty mean "Allouette" and "la Paloma" on a tin whistle once upon a time, but really I'm talking about the other two things - Ireland and bikes.

"You could race through Ireland in a car, sticking to the main routes; but if you take a bicycle,  breathe in the air, and wander off into the side roads, you'd be closer to the spirit of the place. You could learn traditional music by the book, sticking to the main notes; but if you take a tin whistle, breathe out the air, and wander off into the variations, you'd be closer to the spirit of the piece. Riding a bicycle or playing a whistle, the journey becomes more than a means to the end of reaching a destination; it becomes an end in itself, its own destination."

And that is what the author did, he bicycled around Ireland, basically following a circumference route starting at Whitehead and ending at Belfast (about 15.7 road miles between them); I'm not sure which was the main point of the tour, the bicycling, the sessions and music festivals, the meeting of minds, or...  maybe it was the Guinness, there was plenty of that to go around as well: "The Southerners I spoke to were singularly impressed by the high quality of the northern roads and by the low price of the Northern Guinness. - two not insignificant items if you're riding a bike on a hot day."

There is a terrific flow and style to the authors' writing that made this a thoroughly enjoyable read. Now, gettin' around Ireland, with all the small criss-crossin' roads can sometimes be a daunting task. I've missed many turns and had to double back many times during my own travels there. Take for instance this passage by the author: "The next day I decided to make my way to Newton Crommelin, in the Glens of Antrim, for a session at the Skerry Inn. Unsure of the route, I stopped in at one of the local pubs for directions and started a debate that drew in half the town...Newtown Crommelin, is it? said Jimmy MacDonnell... It would be easier to find your way to Moscow than Newtown Crommelin..." After numerous map making attempts and writing down three pages worth of notes, "How're you gettin' there, anyway?" asked the barman. "On a bicycle," I answered. "Jesus, you're fuckin' cracked," was the instant and unanimous verdict. "For Chirssake, catch yourself on," said Jimmy MacDonnell: "look, I'll drive you there myself."

I've had some good luck with my book selections lately, and this one easily keeps the streak going. By the by, the illustrations are really cool, adding an extra layer of texture to many of the incidents being related in the text.

Wilson, David A. with Illustrations by Justin Palmer

Ireland, a Bicycle, and a Tim Whistle

Montreal: McGill - Queen's University Press, 1995