This time I came to Dublin for EO GLC. But this journey went far beyond. It was a wonderful retreat, a week where I learned and shared every minute. “I'm glad I'm at EO,” I said again.
I also got to know Ireland.
I realized how limited what I thought I knew about Ireland actually was. In a week; I saw a people living through storytelling, a culture that preserves its own language and memory, extraordinary layers of history such as Newgrange and Knowth dating back to 3000 BC, folklore, music, Riverdance, clover, the transformation of green into a symbol, how Guinness is almost a culture in itself, and how famine and migration shape the soul of a nation.
And then Trinity College…
The magnificent library there, the Old Library, and the Book of Kells Experience in that magical atmosphere told me not just about a book, but about the memory of a civilization. While looking at the Book of Kells, I thought that sometimes the history of a country is told more by the texts it has preserved than by its wars.
While traveling around Ireland, the following names were in my mind: Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, W. B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde... It is impossible not to feel how a country leaves its mark on the world with its literature. In music, names like U2 and Sinéad O'Connor are like strong memories that carry the sound of this country to the world.
One of Dublin's Dark Stories: Darkey Kelly
Dublin's stories are not just about literature and music. At the center of one of the city's dark legends is Dorcas Kelly, known as Darkey Kelly.
It is said that Darkey Kelly ran a brothel known as "Maiden Tower" in Dublin's Fishamble Street in the mid-18th century. Over time, allegations that she was one of Ireland's first known female serial killers, that she killed five people she hosted in her home, and that the bodies were buried in the floor of the building, were added to her story.
One of the most striking parts of the legend is the claim that she had an affair with Dublin Sheriff Simon Luttrell and gave birth to a child from this relationship. According to the narrative, rumors of witchcraft about Kelly grew stronger after she accused Luttrell.
Darkey Kelly was executed on January 7, 1761. Over time, his story has turned into a narrative where historical events and urban legends are mixed together. Even today, there are people who believe his ghost haunts Fishamble Street. The narratives associated with the Hellfire Club also give it a special place in Dublin's dark folklore.
It is not easy to separate the history documented in Darkey Kelly's story from the legends that grew up later. Perhaps it is precisely this ambiguity that makes it such an enduring part of the Dublin narrative.
Perhaps what struck me most was this: Ireland did not hide its pain. They transformed it into music, literature, storytelling, humour and identity.
They endured famine, emigrated, were divided and struggled... But he did not lose his memory. Maybe that's why this country doesn't just show itself to people; speaks for itself.
As I leave Dublin, I have only one feeling in my mind: Really knowing a country starts with trying to understand the memory it carries, not its visible face.
And I turned out to know a lot less about Ireland than I thought.