Country Living with Francis Farragher

ANOTHER year has nearly passed, almost in the blink of an eye it seems, and the flywheel definitely seems to accelerate with the passing of years. Anyway, a time for part one of the annual alphabetical guide to things that happened in 2023 and might happen in 2024. Here goes!

A is for the band of Aliens that will descend upon Mother Earth from the furthest reaches of outer space. Well, that’s according to some of my more eccentric acquaintances who tell me that the United States are in possession of top secret information about the impending arrival of the Aliens. Probably not one to lose atoo much sleep over.

B is for buses, and maybe just a little personal vow, to avail of a service that certainly at times can take the hassle out of those journeys to near and far-off places. Is it worth driving to Dublin Airport anymore? Certainly not when a bus from Tuam or Galway can land you outside Terminal 1 or 2.

C is for all the culchies of this world . . . and that means everyone outside The Pale. We’re a rare breed of cowboys whose emotions get roused when the football is thrown in at the start of a county final ore when we see a Conor Cooney drive the sliotar over the bar from 80-yards out.

D is for all us dreamers who just might wake up some morning to hear on the news that a peace deal has been reached between Israel and Palestine; that mothers and babies are not being bombed into eternity; that Putin will call off his war . . . well, we are dreamers really, aren’t we?

E is for education – that great common denominator which can help more humble young souls to better themselves with qualifications of all sorts including medicine, the arts and engineering. It’s also for the encouraging aspect of education when nine-year-olds love going to school, oceans away from the fear that many of us experience back in the day when the school word was mentioned.

F is a constant since last year and of course a little personal one too with the strides that Pope Francis is making to give a more Christian and caring perspective to our Catholic religion. Like education, we needed to move away from some of the horrors of the past, but Francis seems to be a very genuine soul.