嘿，爱尔兰！

By+Christine+Mc+Cafferty

The two backpacking girls were on an overnight ferry（渡輪）from Scotland to Ireland. A true adventure： especially as they were low on money， did not know anyone in Ireland and had no idea what they would do when they got there. But by now we know our girls； they always make a plan. They were not long on the ferry when they met a young truck driver by the name of Frankie.

W e started chatting to Frankie who almost immediately offered us a lift and invited us to stay at his house. We were quite surprised by this， but we would soon learn just how unbelievably friendly and hospitable1 the Irish are. Frankie was eager for us to meet his wife as well， which was surprising but positive. So we drove off the ferry in Frankies truck and bypassed the city of Belfast，2 which is the capital of Northern Ireland. In the south of Ireland is another capital called Dublin3， which is the capital of the Republic of Ireland. We drove past Lough Neagh4， which is the largest lake in the British Islands. Lough means lake in English or loch5 in Scottish English.

The island of Ireland is divided in two countries. At that time there was a great deal of violence and conflict in Ireland， although that never held us back at all in our decision to go.6 As we drove through a small country town at early dawn， looking down from the front seat of Frankies truck， we were shocked to see a line of about 10 soldiers on either side of the road walking slowly and carrying very large guns. We could only see their outline in the rising sun. It was a frightening sight， but Frankie didnt even give a second glance.

Then it was on to Cookstown7 where Frankie lived. His wife Bridget was very sweet and kind to us. They seemed to us a strange couple though， as they were young yet showed no spontaneous affection8 and seldom touched each other. We were grateful for their hospitality and rested a day and had a peaceful night. Wed decided to go south to the Republic of Ireland so， the next day， we hiked off in the direction of the town of Omagh9.

Of course， once again， we hitchhiked10. Ireland has to be the best place in the world to hitchhike. Despite the conflict， the people are incredibly friendly. The Irish truly are a beautiful and warm people. It was not long before four young men， driving in the opposite direction that we were planning to go， stopped and offered us a lift.

“Where are you going？” Shannon asked.

“Enniskillen11，” one of them replied.endprint

“Wonder where that is？” I asked Shannon.

“Who cares，” she said. “Lets go！” With that we jumped in the car； yes six in a car—and drove off in the opposite direction that wed been headed.

One of the boys John was travelling further and offered for us to come stay with his family on their farm near a place called Lisnaskea12. Their farm truly seemed to be in most rural Ireland. What an opportunity！ What a friendly family！ They were so excited to have two adventurous young girls over to stay. Johns mother and his sister Mary were really sweet and so helpful. The best thing was that they ate all day. We always seemed to be around the busy kitchen table with a hot stove cooking tasty things to eat； most of them had potato as the main ingredient： potato soup， potato fries， potato fritters，13 potato bread， potato salad and potatoes added to every other dish we ate.

In Europe the Irish are renowned for having lived a harsh life in the past in their cold climate.14 Parts of Ireland had been settled by English and Scottish people over the centuries. Members of the British ruling classes were granted most of the land in Ireland by the British crown.15 The Irish people were poor， and had to rent the land from these landowners and work it to survive.

The one crop that grew easily in Ireland was the potato. People， especially the rural poor， mostly lived on potatoes which is a healthy food. From the 1500s to the 1800s， the Irish population grew from 1 to 8 million. The problem was that they were completely dependent on potatoes. Then disaster struck.16 In 1845 a disease from North America entered the country. All the potatoes rotted in the ground. This is known as the Great Irish Potato Famine17. At least one million people died and hundreds of thousands were evicted18 from the land as they could not pay rent to the landowners. Most of the landowners were living comfortably in England. About two million Irish people left the country， most going to the United States. By 1921 when the south of Ireland managed to gain independence from the United Kingdom， the Irish population was barely half of what it had been in the 1840s. So there is a bitter and sad history in Ireland， and it lay beneath the conflict that was ongoing there.19 Lisnaskea， where we were staying， had been an area in which the Irish had regularly rebelled against20 the landowners. I had， while at school， read the book Trinity21 by Leon Uris. So I was hoping for the chance to learn more about the political situation firsthand22.endprint

We were having a great time laughing and eating with Mary and John on the farm. By their names you could tell that they were Catholics23. That night they took us to a dance organised by the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association24. This was an organisation for Roman Catholic teetotallers25. Teetotallers are people who dont drink any alcohol. The organisation was founded to encourage young people especially to stay away from alcohol and to have fun without it. The problem was that most of its members were older people， as were the people at the dance26！

Many of the people were staring at us as though we were from Mars. They could barely believe that there were two young foreign girls in their midst. Despite this， or maybe because of it， as we were not shy， Shannon and I had fun waltzing27 around with the family， even Johns Mum. She was so excited and proud to show off her visitors to everyone.

We were then lucky enough to be invited by a young man to an 18th birthday party at a place called “The Clubhouse” in the nearby village of Rosslea. Johns mum said it was fine for us to go so we left the Total Abstinence party. Now the birthday party was a real party， and everyone there was about our age or a little older. The dance floor was rocking.28 I met someone who I thought was really cool. His name was Marty Woods. He was such fun and made me laugh. We danced wildly on the dance floor and then he took me by the hand and led me outside， where he grabbed me and gave me a big kiss！ He was a great kisser！ But I was less impressed when he told me that we needed to stay outside so that he could avoid his “lassie29”， which is his girlfriend. Well I never saw him again， but nonetheless Shannon and I had a great time seeing both sides of the rural Irish social life.

The night was about to get better for me though as we were then invited by a guy called Conor to go back to a “meeting” with them. I suspected it was political and desperately wanted to go. Shannon agreed. Rosslea had been the site of many attacks by Irish rebels during the Irish War of Independence30. There was still strong support for the Irish Republican Army （IRA）31 in that area.

1. hospitable： 好客的，熱情友好的。

2. bypass： 绕过，绕……走；Belfast：贝尔法特斯，北爱尔兰首都，也是该地最大港市。

3. Dublin： 都柏林，爱尔兰共和国首都。

4. Lough Neagh： 内伊湖，位于北爱尔兰地区的淡水湖，是不列颠群岛最大的湖泊。lough： //〈爱尔兰〉湖，海湾。

5. loch： //〈苏格兰〉湖，狭长海湾。

6. 那时的爱尔兰境内暴力冲突不断，但这并不能阻挡我们去一探究竟的决心。endprint

7. Cookstown： 库克斯敦区，北爱尔兰中部的一个区。

8. spontaneous affection： 自然流露出的感情。

9. Omagh： 奥马，北爱尔兰西部城市。

10. hitchhike： 搭便车。

11. Enniskillen： 恩尼斯基伦，北爱尔兰西南部城市，弗马纳郡（Fermanagh）首府。

12. Lisnaskea： 利斯纳斯基，弗马纳郡的第二大城市。

13. ingredient：（烹调的）原料；potato fritter： 炸土豆饼。

14. be renowned for： 以……著称；harsh： 艰苦的，（生存条件）恶劣的。

15. grant： 授予；British crown： 指英国王室。

16. 后来，（这里）遭受了一场灾难。struck： strike的过去式，指（灾难、疾病等）突然侵袭。

17. the Great Irish Potato Famine：爱尔兰大饥荒，也称马铃薯饥荒，指1845至1852年间，爱尔兰人赖以生存的马铃薯因感染霉菌大面积失收导致的大饥荒。在这五年间，英国统治下的爱尔兰人口锐减了近1/4。

18. evict：（通常因未付租金而将其从土地、房屋中）驱逐，赶出。

19. 因此，爱尔兰有着一段悲惨的历史，这段历史也为爱尔兰长期存在的冲突埋下了祸根。

20. rebel against： 反抗，反叛。

21. Trinity： 《爱尔兰往事》，是美国著名小说作家里昂·尤里斯（Leon Uris）的一部回顾爱尔兰独立战争的史诗性小说。Trinity本义是“三位一体”。

22. firsthand： 第一手的，直接获得的。

23. Catholic： 天主教教徒。

24. Pioneer Total Abstinence Association：一个由罗马天主教徒组建、倡导绝对禁酒的国际性组织，设于爱尔兰，组织成员被称为禁酒先锋（Pioneers）。abstinence：// 禁欲，戒酒。

25. teetotaller： // 绝对戒酒者，滴酒不沾的人。

26. at the dance： 参加舞会，出席舞会。

27. waltz： v. 跳華尔兹舞。

28. 舞池的地板都在震颤。

29. lassie：（女性）情人，情侣。

30. Irish War of Independence： 爱尔兰独立战争（1919—1921），是一场爱尔兰共和军在爱尔兰发动的以反对英国政府统治爱尔兰的内战。

31. Irish Republican Army： 爱尔兰共和军，简称IRA，成立于1919年，曾为爱尔兰独立、现为爱尔兰南北部统一而战斗。endprint