Some Lesson from a Trip Out West

Our family has recently returned from a two week stay in beautiful Connemara in the West of Ireland. Over the next few weeks, I want to share some lessons we learned from our time there. In this week’s blog, I hope to reflect on the power of welcome.

The first place we experienced welcome was in the local parish church of Christ Church, Clifden. We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and, when we went to church on Sunday morning, everyone was very welcoming as we took our seats at the back. As the family who were staying with us had to do a message, Lucy and I stayed for tea and coffee after the service, and were made to feel very welcome by the lay reader leading the service and all the congregation, who ensured we had somewhere to sit and room to manoeuvre.

After a summer of very unsettling headlines about the abuse being received by members of the refugee and asylum seekers community right around the UK and Ireland, it was good to see a diverse multicultural worshipping community with different people leading prayers and reading lessons, and there was a real sense that everyone, including visitors, was welcomed into this particular church family no matter how long or short your stay, and we received a very warm welcome on our second Sunday, also.

Connemara is part of the Gaeltacht or Irish speaking part of Ireland, and I had a few opportunities to practice my rusty schoolboy Irish in shops and local businesses. As a parent of a child with special needs, the Irish phrase for learning disability or special needs is Duine le Dia which, when translated, literally means ‘the people of God.’

It’s a beautiful translation and it reflected the experience we had when taking Lucy to various activities and places. Our son, Conor, met a school friend one day also holidaying in the area and they had an afternoon kayaking in a beautiful local bay. Afterwards our two families decided we would have tea in a local pub called, Keoghs of Ballyconeely. As the other family had arrived first, when we were arriving and pushing Lucy’s wheelchair across the road, the doors were literally thrown open and the staff had seen us crossing the road and they gave us the most marvellous welcome. This idea of the doors being flung open in welcome is a powerful one as we try to welcome new people into our church family.

We went one afternoon to an outdoor market and, as is often the way in the West of Ireland, the heavens opened. One minute we were all sitting outside enjoying some food and coffee, the next minute everyone was scrambling for cover. Vicky and Lucy took shelter under the Gazebo of a local ice cream maker called Jimmy, while Conor and I ran to get the car. The rain came down in bucketloads and, with the thunder and lightning, Lucy got quite distressed. Jimmy was so kind and attentive to them both and when we returned to the market the following week he came straight over, called Lucy by her name and offered her a complimentary ice cream. He spoke about how she had touched his heart and invited us to choose any ice cream we wished for her. The neighbouring stall, run by a lovely lady called Jocelyn, gave her a little toy to take away with her. It’s very moving to be given such a warm and generous welcome.

We took Lucy for a therapeutic pony ride one afternoon to the Connemara Therapeutic Riding Centre. The instructors, Jackie and Sara, had been running a summer camp all week and were exhausted, but agreed to slot us in on the Friday at lunchtime. They were so thorough in selecting a saddle that would be comfortable and gave Lucy the most memorable and special afternoon she could have had. These incredibly skilled and passionate professionals work for the minimum wage and are fundraising constantly for these special ponies who do such invaluable work in the local community. Check out www.connemaratherapeuticriding.com to read their inspirational and fascinating story and how they have impacted the lives of local children with the amazing work they do. We were again so impressed by their willingness to accommodate us in such a busy week, and their heartfelt joy in seeing how well the children responded to the experience. Lucy’s pony, Angel, lived up to her name, having a very sweet temperament.

We spent an interesting morning hearing about the workings of an oyster farm. When we enquired about accessibility in advance of the visit, the owners of DK Oysters explained they weren’t fully geared up for wheelchairs, but asked us to come early so they could build the tour around us and another lady who used a rollator. They were so inclusive and allowed Lucy to taste the salinity of the oyster as we all sampled our maiden oysters in a memorable morning.

I guess the common thread in all of these experiences was people who were proud of their local produce and landscape and the experiences they had to offer. They wanted everyone, without exception, to be able to receive the benefits of them and to do all in their power to make it as warm and memorable an experience as possible.

How do we respond when we are treated in this way? Well, it makes you very keen to go back, doesn’t it? It makes you want to tell others about the marvellous things you have received and experienced so that they, too, might be able to experience them for themselves.

As we look forward to our family fun day on 6th September, and we want to throw open the gates and say to the local community, “Come and see what our church community has to offer,” there were lots of important lessons to be learned from the warm welcome we received out West.

Looking forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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