On Thursday evening after work it was over to Ireland for a long weekend across there as well as Brian and Lorraine's wedding on the Friday. We got into Cork quite late and were picked up by Claire at the airport and made our way to Glenanaar Bar bar to meet up with Brian and the rest of the Sammons who were all out for a drink the night before the wedding. Since we got in at around almost midnight, they weren't there for too long until heading home, so after just one at the bar we then headed back to Michael and Claire's place for the night.

On Friday morning after a breakfast at home we set off for the Sammon - O'Donovan wedding which was in Clonakilty, about an hours drive out of Cork. The church service was at 1pm in Darrara, a rural townland near to Clonakilty, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church which was build back in 1897. After the church service, while the newly weds were having their photos done, we all made our way down the road to Kitty Macs which overlooks the Clonakilty Bay for a quick pre-dinner beer or two. After sometime once their official photos were done, they joined us all for a well deserved beer at the pub. From there we set off for Fernhill House Hotel for the dinner and reception, about a ten minute drive away. The hotel is a family-run business situated in the heart of Clonakilty, and boasts its own landscaped gardens and known for its magnificent cuisine.

We were all staying over at the Fernhill House Hotel which was nice and handy, no need to travel anywhere later and just a short stumble walk to the room later on. The hotel itself was lovely with a marquee down on the gardens below and all guests were given a lift down there by golf cart for pre-drinks before the ceremony. After a couple of glasses down there, we all made our way back up to the hotel's dining hall to await the arrival for the new Sammon couple. The reception was fantastic, the food was really good, the live band played well and the bar was well stocked. There were a good number at the wedding, almost 220 guests, so definitely one of the bigger weddings I've been to. But guess that's an Irish wedding for you! Think we faded round about 3 in the morning, but apparently others were still going strong until 5ish, which was impressive!

Saturday morning was a bit of a rough start to the day, think that was a general feeling with everyone from the night before. So much so that no one woke up in time for breakfast! After checking out of the hotel, we headed off to Inchydoney, a small island, long connected to the mainland by two causeways. It was only a 15 minute drive away which was perfect as by then everyone was starving for something to eat. We parked the cars by the Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa and settled on lunch at the Dunes Pub & Bistro which was alongside the hotel and spa. There was talk on the Friday that we might go surfing in the afternoon, as they had a surfboard hire down by the beach, but don't think anyone was particularly keen on the idea of been out there on the waves, bobbing up and down. I was originally up for the idea of trying my hand at a bit of surfing, but in all honestly by the Saturday afternoon I was quite glad the plans had changed!

After lunch, it was about a 45 minute drive west to Castlehaven to Una's folks' place, arriving there late afternoon, where we chilled out for a few hours. That evening, it was out into the village to Mary Ann's Bar and Restaurant, where we met up with all the others too. After a good meal there, we all headed off into Skibbereen to Cahalane's Bar where Brian and Lorraine were having the night-after drinks. It's apparently quite an Irish wedding tradition to have a three day wedding celebration, so after drinks at Glenanaar on the Thursday, the wedding on the Friday, it made perfect sense to continue that onto the Saturday as well. So everyone met up at Cahalane's that night for another fairly big night out. I liked the idea of everyone meeting up again the following night, to catch up on stories and gossip from the night before. Plus the newly weds get a chance to relax and catch up and chat with everyone, compared to the craziness of the night before. We stayed there for a few hours, and when the few of us started to fade, we thought we'd call it a night and find a taxi home.

Then yesterday morning Mark, Deidre, Donners and Emma came down for breakfast before getting back on the road and heading home. After they had all left, we decided to head down to the Beacon in Baltimore for a little while before out late lunch. It was nice and sunny down there which was good, last time we were there it was quiet heavy overcast. After sometime walking around and chilling out at the Beacon, we headed back in time for a late lunch, before having to pack up our stuff and make our way back up to Cork Airport and onto the flight back to London, getting in around 10ish last night.

Feeling rather tired today after a fairly full on weekend, but at least it's going to be a rather quiet week coming up with not much planned. But for now, the main plan is to get through the rest of this Monday...