The Preciousness of Tramore

Tramore towards The Metal Man, Co. Waterford

I don’t think I have ever felt as deeply in love with my home town, Tramore, as I did this evening as the sun was setting. The intensity of the feeling is very difficult to describe but it was undoubtedly fuelled by the fact I knew that my best friend from Tramore was on her way home from far away to attend her father’s funeral.

We had messaged each other a few times during the day and she wrote at one point that she was doing okay but she wasn’t so sure how she would be when she got to Tramore. It seemed as if this lovely seaside town was doing everything it possibly could to ease her homecoming and soften the sadness of death.

Tramore towards Brownstowns Town Head, Co. Waterford

By October each year, Tramore is pretty much back to itself after the hectic tourist season which swells the population, especially in July and August. The town is small enough that most people are at least nodding acquaintances with each other and there is a very strong sense of community, especially at times of sadness and joy.

As I was standing on the historic Promenade, with the waves splashing through the distinctive railings, I realised that this is the place in the world where I feel totally at home.

The arms of Tramore Bay have a special embrace and the sound of the sea is the sweetest I know, especially when it whispers beneath the full moon, just like it’s doing now with midnight approaching under the fullest of full moons.

 

 

 

 

Evocative Tramore ~ Gatherings from Ireland # 189

Tramore Beach, Co. Waterford

There’s a brilliance about living in Tramore which was developed as a seaside resort way back in the 1800s.

Today, as we bask in a heatwave, I felt I could touch the very magic of Tramore as it has impacted on holidaymakers over the centuries.  The first little quiver of excitement was when I went to the clothesline to gather up my towels and togs for a swim and found they were lovely and warm. I associate this so much with times I came to Tramore on holidays as a child. That anticipation of going to the beach ….. and as I drove Main Street, my eyes were caught by the colourful array of buckets and spades outside Cahill’s shop.

Tramore has a very public face and it has the brightest smile during hazy heat waves. Somehow, I always seem to be able to hear the excited laughter of children on the beach and splashing in the sea,  even from my garden which is at the top of the town. Today, that childish noise was so dominant, it felt as if it contained echoes of children from way back through the centuries mingling with those who are experiencing their first holiday in Tramore.

I went for a walk along the Doneraile, which was a Victorian Walkway, and seeing people sitting in sun hats made me think of  old photographs of days when crowds would gather there to watch the annual regatta in Tramore Bay.

The Doneraile Walk overlooking Tramore Beach

This evening I wonder what could be more Tramore, for me, than emptying fine sand from my shoes, plastering on after -sun, eating a divinely warm, juicy peach and planning yet another day with sand and sea tomorrow.

Doneraile Walk to Metal Man, Tramore, Co. Waterford