Fifty years

That's right.  Fifty years.  That's the last time the weather in Ireland has been as warm or as consistently sunny.  As you can see from the newspaper clips below, we were on the verge of setting an all-time single day heat record a few days ago - 92 degrees F.  A record that has stood since 1887.  I guess we didn't make it, but as I check my weather app each day, most days we have blown out the previous record for the day by a range of 10 - 14 degrees.  Remarkable, huh?  I have bought three pairs of shorts, five short-sleeve polo shirts, and three lighter pairs of pants.  Each trip since 2007, I have packed long-sleeve polos, heavy cotton moleskin pants, several weights of sweaters, corduroy pants, and windbreaker jackets.  They've gotten little use this year.

During our first visit in 2007, out of the 21 days we were here, we experienced 20 days of pouring rain.  As I look back at the pictures from that time, I have a consistent look - green hooded Lands End rain jacket, L.L. Bean mud shoes, and full-length cargo pants.  My two rounds of golf, at two of the finest courses in Ireland - Lahinch and Royal County Down - were played in mostly torrential rain and screaming winds.  After each round it took days for my gear to dry out.  It seems almost criminal to let any of these fine days go by without at least a few holes played.  But we have capitalized on the weather by making sure we're out and about in the fresh air somewhat every day.  Last night, we walked into town for a coffee, reaching back home at 10:30 - still plenty of ambient light for our walk.  And the previous day, we went on a substantial biking trip most of the way toward the neighboring town of Newport.

Folks lining up to get a chance to jump off the pier at Old Head Beach,
just outside of Westport.