In the UK there is, in some circles, the idea that Ireland is just “England with a funny accent”. Let me disabuse any reader of this idea. It is a very different country, though the accent can take a while to get used to. There is the weather, of course, though this is not as cold as the north-east of England. It is wetter – there’s a saying that it rains every day in Ireland. This is probably true but doesn’t mean it rains where you happen to be. The winds can be a bit fiercer too. I go out every morning in the storm season and check no trees have fallen, especially across the road. This happened once and we were out and cutting it up within an hour. That’s the responsibility of the landowner here.

There are far fewer people in the Republic. Counting up in the last census there are more people in London than in the whole country here, by a big margin. This makes for a different feel and social system, which contributes to the different country. Out in rural areas a neighbour “just over the road” is anyone within about 3 kilometers. We often see our neighbours striding along the road, rain or shine and with or without dogs. They stop and have a quick chat if we are out – one of the nice differences. Large swathes of the country are wild, farmland or inhabited very sparsely so simple things like shopping or posting a letter can take several hours. Adjusting to that has been difficult at times.

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed I used kilometers, not miles, in the last paragraph. Well, Ireland has embraced the metric system with enthusiasm and all signs use metric measures, whether for speed limits or the weight of fish. Jacqui is a whiz at recalculating one from another, especially speed limits, which is a very handy skill. Somehow it seems jouneys should be faster than they are but actually it takes as long to to 100 kilometers in most of Ireland as it takes to do 100 miles in the UK. There are fewer motorways, very few dual carriageways and most roads out of town are barely wide enough for two cars to pass, let alone the huge amount of farm machinery around. Everything from driving habits to time calculations highlight this is a very different country.

There are traffic jams still – nothing changes that much – but they are normally caused by one of three things. Road works and hedgecutting cause a lot of delays. Then there is the moving of large herds of cows for milking. We’ve worked out when the afternoon herd is likely to be out and work around it now. A young man on a quad bike, who stops at every driveway to remove the rope barrier he’s put across on the way down, chivvies this group. Though ably assisted by two collie type dogs that keep the herd moving it takes about 20 minutes.

The final cause is the funeral procession. A cross between a tradition and an endurance sport, this is the transporting of the dead loved one to the church, at walking pace. The family and those attending the mass follow in solemn procession. Anyone on the pavements stops and bows their head in respect. Cars coming the other way often pull over and stop, sometimes with the drivers getting out to pay their respects. After the mass the whole ceremony is repeated as they wend their way to the local cemetery. The times and venues of funerals are broadcast on local FM stations daily. If heard it leaves you likely to actually know whose funeral it is. Like I said, the population is very small here.

There are a lot of really nice differences here. People are much more friendly, something that surprised me as I’m obviously English the moment I open my mouth. A second visit to a shop leaves you staggered to find they know and remember your name. There is space, there are some beautiful landscapes and the birds and wildlife are ever enchanting. The food quality is excellent too. We have the chance to grow our own fruit and vegetables, if the birds don’t get there first of course. On the down side there is no public transport, no infrastructure outside of the towns to speak of and the water quality tends to be rather suspect, mostly due to agricultural run-off. This is rather a sore political pint in the media and many communities at the moment.

Some delivery companies are excellent but there’s always the odd rogue who leaves stuff on the gatepost or even chucks the parcels over the hedge and drives off. We can’t do much about most of that but our water filtration system is working well and registered a clean bill of health in the latest tests for our house water. There are also the occasional rats, one of whom has managed to climb the pole – but hasn’t yet managed to get down to the bird feeder. Mabel, the feral cat, is still prowling at night and acts as a good deterrent.

Some things remain the same though, even in a very different country. I was in the wood and was shocked to see the new trees had lost their leaves. For a moment I thought they were all dying. Then I remembered it is autumn. Trees are supposed to lose their leaves and in fact do so quite lavishly in high winds. Just look at our choked up gutters… We are now shifting into winter mode with new and different tasks. Bringing in the logs twice a week, preferably between showers, is a regular. Chasing out mice and some of the spiders keeps me vigilant. Watching for burst pipes and water flooding running down from the farmer’s field is a constant worry. Despite that we are warm, safe and happy here and planning the next year – after Christmas obviously.

Thank you for reading and I hope you will join me in a few weeks.

Jennie.