On Day 8 of my hike, I made the 18km(ish) saunter from Caherdaniel to Sneem. My weather situation that day was a mix of heavy rain, regular rain, sunny stints, and stupidly-pretty vistas. The trail took me along paved road, into the forest to follow a few dirt paths, through stretches of water-logged fields (my shoes were soaked pretty quickly and I just treated them like water shoes that were clearly meant to be wet…it’s all about perspective), and down several backroads that led past fences, barns, and beautiful, colourful, eclectic homes; one such home belonged to a man named Séamus.
I encountered Séamus as I beetled along the trial, bopping to I’m Good by the Mowgli’s (I legitimately know that’s what I was listening to because I took a screenshot after talking to Séamus and before resuming my hike…because details and memory-hoarding are my specialty).
As I was passing a house on my right, I had noticed an older gent walking towards the front door. He was clad in a greyish sweater and faded dark overalls (the heavy duty kind that looked to be waterproof, with thick suspenders). He was wearing large rain boots and had a dark navy beanie on with tufts of grey hair poking out in a few spots. As he walked towards the house, he spotted me motoring along. I noticed that he noticed me, so I slowed down, waved, took out one of my headphones, and loudly marvelled at how nice of an afternoon it was turning out to be. Séamus agreed and took a few steps towards the trail so we wouldn’t have to call out quite as much. As he neared the trail, a dog emerged from between the pair of vehicles in the driveway to join me and Séamus. Séamus introduced his dog, “Sandy”. I didn’t ask what breed she was, but she was adorable and I’m quite certain that she was a Border Collie…pretty sure that the photo at the end of this post will back me up on that (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, though!).
I chatted with Séamus for about 10/15 minutes, while making sure that Sandy got all of the pats. Séamus was such a friendly guy! He noted my “accent” and told me that his brother was a doctor who is now retired and living “somewhere in Canada”. Séamus couldn’t quite recall the specific town/city where his brother lives (it sounded like the West from his description of the landscape), but said that his brother loves it in Canada and that he doesn’t have much intention of leaving. He told me that he’d been excited to visit his brother in 2021, but that COVID had thwarted his plans. I assured Séamus that we’ll be thrilled to have him in Canada when he does visit and that if he’s met with any rude Canadians, to send them my way.
Séamus and I chatted a bit more about Canada and Ireland, in general. He asked how long I’d be in Ireland and I shared a brief overview of my trip, including the explanation that I was on my third-last day of The Kerry Way. He asked if Sneem was my next checkpoint and I confirmed that it was. Séamus told me that I would be remiss if I didn’t check out a pub in Sneem called D O’Sheas Bar. My marching orders were to visit D O’Sheas Bar for dinner that night and to order myself a draft pint of Guinness. I thanked him for the suggestion and asked if he could describe the general location of the pub in Sneem. Séamus chuckled and said “close your eyes and you’ll walk right into it”, so I gathered that it wouldn’t be too difficult to find. He said he didn’t foresee me having any trouble locating the pub, but to just look for the bright pink building- mission accepted. I thanked Séamus for our chat and apologized to Sandy for having to leave, which meant I’d no longer be giving her any pats. I told Séamus to have a lovely day and to enjoy Canada when he visited. I bid Séamus and Sandy adieu and headed off down the trail. I made it to Sneem about three and a half hours later.
That evening, I headed into town and found D O’Sheas Bar without a hitch. The seating options were beyond saturated when I arrived, but I was on a warpath to dine at Séamus’s recommendation. I did a lap of the bar and accepted that my only option was a quaint two-seat area around a corner, with barstool seating and a wooden counter-type ledge for a table. Was I bothered to be a bit ‘out of the way’ and unable to bask in the main area of the pub? Of course not. I was in frigging Sneem, I was following through on Séamus’s recommendation (though he will likely never know), and I’d just completed another wonderful, muddy, refreshing day of hiking! A server came over and I ordered the soup of the day (that was a thing I did a lot in Ireland) with a pint of Bulmers (in hindsight, what a failure, didn’t remember until writing this that I was instructed to get Guinness…next time). That evening, I mowed down my homemade tomato-and-red-pepper soup, bread, and pint while thinking back on my chat with Séamus and Sandy. I mulled over the somewhat eventful day of hiking I’d had (more on that in a future post). While I didn’t really interact with anyone at D O’Sheas Bar, given my sequestered location in the pub, it was a warm, friendly, welcoming environment. The food was flipping delicious and it was a cozy spot to enjoy dinner before heading back to the B&B to crash and power up for the final two days of the route. For the record, my Googling tells me that the pub was run by the O Shea family until 1996 and it seems to be dearly regarded by both locals and visitors, alike. I am in no way affiliated with D O’Sheas Bar, but I’d absolutely recommend stopping in if you happen to be in Sneem.
I was beyond pleased to have met Séamus and Sandy that day. After spending so many hours traipsing through rain on my own (to my glory, don’t get me wrong), there was something really nice about briefly chatting with someone who was also clad in rain gear, while mutually agreeing that the sunny afternoon was a lovely thing to see. The conversation we had and the sliver of web-like connectivity (me being in Ireland from Canada, Séamus and Sandy entertaining an interaction with me, and learning that Séamus’s brother lives in Canada) was such a happy little addition to my day. As a bonus, Séamus had provided a great dinner recommendation and I ended the day feeling both whacked from hiking and carb-happy.
Winning all around, in my books.
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