Portally Cove Co. Waterford – SOCIAL BRIDGE ~ Jean Tubridy connecting with you from Ireland

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to go for a walk along the spectacular Cliff Walk from Dunmore East to Portally Cove here in Co. Waterford.

There is a seat overlooking Portally Cove which has an inscription drawing on the famous lines from W.H. Davies:

As I sat there, I headed into the complex territory of ‘the meaning of life’ and got to thinking about what are THE most important things in life.

It seems to be fairly straightforward for people who are at the end of their lives and are looking back at what was important but for those of us who feel we probably still have a bit to go, it can become a bit of a tangled web as minor stuff can take on far more significance than it probably should. I was thinking, for example, that when I’m on my death-bed, I’ll hardly be too concerned about the fact that my laptop is banjaxed and that I’ve mislaid a library book.

I came to the overall conclusion that what matters most is doing our best for humanity. Some people may be in a position to literally change the world while others may have to operate at less ‘public’ levels.

What do you think, dear friends?

One of my passions as a kid was tracing the map of Ireland. My attention was always on the edge where sea and land met and I would have wild imaginings about all the inlets ~ caves, coves, sand, shingle, rocks, waves, isolation, population, horizon …..

I couldn’t but think of all those tracings, using greaseproof paper, smooth dark lead and every ounce of my concentration, as I spent a glorious while at Portally Cove this afternoon.

Portally is just south of Dunmore East here in Co. Waterford in the South-East and can be reached either by road or along the stunning Cliff Walk from Dunmore East village.

It was quite late in the afternoon and the only other person there was a man in a red jumper which blended beautifully with blackberries yet to ripen on the winding path down to the cove. We said our hellos but it was obvious to me that he wanted solitude so we didn’t get into chat.

Here’s the the beauty that was ours. I wonder now if he, too, spent hours tracing maps of Ireland or maybe maps of other spaces, places, people, dreams …..