Good afternoon 👋
How’s your weekend looking?
On Wednesday morning, my parents, auntie, uncle and I arrived back in the Swansea valleys after six lovely days in Donegal. We’re going to take a look at some of what we got up to in today’s blog.
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
Ireland is a country that means a lot to us, as a family. Our grandfather, James Edward Sweeney, was originally born there, and it’s somewhere we try to go back and visit when we can. I feel very lucky to have gone over four times now, starting off with my first visit there in 2014.
When we were planning our trips for this year, I knew my dad had been wanting to come back to visit again for some time now. As soon as he asked me if I’d fancy going as well, it was a simple answer – who could say no to a trip like this?
So, what did we get up to this time?
👐 Checked out the small farm where my grandfather grew up.
Coming here really does mean a lot; it makes you think of the incredible man my grandfather was, and the enormous legacy he’s left behind. I’m going to do a full blog about Grampa and the farm soon – it deserves a lot more thought and attention than I can dedicate to only one blog.
🌱 Saw the Grianan of Aileach (a historic ringfort near Letterkenny with links to Irish mythology), had a trip down to the beach, and surrounded ourselves with nature.
🏐 Watched my first game of Gaelic football at a local pub, seeing Donegal vs Down GAA. Donegal sadly lost this game, but it was a super fun sport to watch – I’ll have to watch some extra games headed into the future.
I’ll be honest, I’m still not 100% sure about how the sport works, so watching some more games would be handy 😂
🏰 We visited the “Sweeney Castle”, or Doe Castle, which the Sweeney family built hundreds of years ago. I don’t think I’ve done a full blog about the castle here on the page – maybe it’s another one for me to explore in more detail in the future. Leave that idea with me, and I’ll see what comes to mind.
All in all, it was a fab trip – a real break, a refresher, and an amazing opportunity to spend some more intentional time with the family.
Of course, no trip to Ireland is complete without a Guinness! You can’t go wrong with a couple of drinks back in the old country – it’s what Grampa would have wanted after all too.
While I’ve had a load of bigger, international trips over the last few years, sometimes the smaller, closer-to-home ones can be just as meaningful. Coming back here every couple of years is great, and I certainly want to carry on doing so where I can.
Sláinte Ireland, until next time 🫡
That’s all for today’s blog. What do you think? What’s a place that means a lot to you? Do you enjoy visiting places where your family came from? What’s one place you’d love to see over the next few years?
I’d love to hear what you think 😊
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!
James
Sweeney's Blogs 