Donegal Weekend

Donegal Weekend

This weekend I took a trip to Ballybofey, Co. Donegal. I was meeting up with my great friend Evelyn and her husband, Brian. Donegal is a beautiful, wild and unspoiled area of Ireland but I wasn’t there for the scenery this time. It was more of a catch-up… Time to reminisce and recharge the batteries. I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and got to see a different side to Donegal than I was used to. I was amazed by the great entrepreneurial spirit of the area and the pride they have in their county. I got to see a performance of Grease by St. Columba’s Collge, attend a ball in Letterkenny and visit a craft fair in Ballybofey.

The Ball

The highlight of my Donegal weekend was definitely the Donegal Business Ball. I had never been to a ball before, so this was new territory for me. But Evelyn reassured me, saying in her best Donegal accent, “Ach, it will be grand…All you have to do is clap for the speeches!” And, do you know what, she was exactly right. I was fascinated by all the glamour on show and it was really funny when people asked me what company I was with. It was a side of life that I wouldn’t really be familiar with and so it was very interesting. We did better than Cinderella, we stayed up till 5 am. and we didn’t lose our shoes.

Takeaways

It is great having friends like Evelyn. We’ve known each other for nearly thirty years, ever since we were new Mums living as neighbours in Newbridge, Co. Kildare. That was before she moved back to Donegal. We shared the joys and challenges of raising our little toddlers in a rapidly changing world, trying to support and encourage them.  But, along the way, we never lost sight of encouraging each other and that is what makes the difference. Evelyn, with all her marketing experience,  is inspiring me on my creative journey and I hope I do the same for her, just in a different way.

The photo was taken by a friend at the Ball

I think I’ve ticked off one of my November Targets…Write a random post!