| Rattigan's Pub, Kevin O'Hara & Missie |
| In 1979 Kevin O'Hara walked the entire coast of Ireland, north included, with a donkey named Missy. He wrote a book which Mom and I read just prior to our trip and throughout our travels we would often say, "The Donkeyman walked here". Seeing an actual donkey conjured a more significant impression for having become acquainted with the memory of the recalcitrant Missy.
Kevin lives in Pittsfield, Massachusetts but his family came from Roscommon which is where he was in 1979 and it is from Rattigan's Pub that he began his epic journey. Kathleen Rattigan ran the pub then and when we visited in 2004 she was still running the pub, as well as the tiny post office within the pub. The three gentlemen inside were three of the same that saw Kevin and Missy off 25 years earlier. Kevin's book is a charming and poignant story and one I would heartily recommend to anyone contemplating a visit to the Emerald Isle... or not. |
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