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A welcome from Spiddal
By Malcolm Rogers
Malcolm rogers travels to Spiddal in Galway to meet the Farrells — who relocated from Hadley Wood in London to Ireland 10 years ago.
I first came across Paul Farrell lying at the side of Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park in London. It would have been about 10 years ago, when Paul was in his 20s and I, since you ask, was a fraction older than that.
The motorcycle accident which had resulted in Paul contemplating the sky over N4 was fortunately not very serious — a cup of tea and a hot toddy at the nearby George Robey pub worked wonders. That probably would have been that but for some reason that remains unclear to both of us we stayed in contact.
At that stage Paul was regularly driving a Transmara lorry from Carna in Galway through to the Continent delivering fresh seafood to the good people of France. Finsbury Park, where I then lived, soon became a stopping off point for Paul on the long journey from Galway to the land of the Gaul.
Through Paul I met his brother Billy, at that time carpenter and odd job man at Arsenal — and there hangs a tale. Billy Farrell is heavily into traditional music, to the point that way back then he would sometimes have taken his pipes along to the football stadium at Highbury.
It is therefore my proud boast today that I can truthfully say I have played at Arsenal. How many young men long to say that but never achieve their ambitions?
In my case I was playing the fiddle, accompanying Billy’s piping in the workshop at Highbury. I often wonder if Arsene Wenger heard us. It might have calmed him down a bit. On the other hand it might explain the occasional head staggers he seems to suffer from.
Eventually I met Paul and Billy’s parents — Longfordman Willie, who was at that time a welder on Canary Wharf, and his wife Pat from Killeen from south Armagh, whose accent would charm the proverbial birds off the trees.
Both had come to Britain in the 1960s and had made a great success of life in their new home. By sheer dint of hard work and business acumen they had ended up living in Hadley Wood, one of London’s most prestigious areas.
But like us all, they had emigrant eyes. By the mid-90s they hankered after a return to home, and even though the kids had been born in England and were now married — well, they were all up for the idea as well.
The Hadley Wood house was duly sold in the mid-1990s and the Farrells repaired to Spiddal in Co. Galway. Paul, the motorbike wizard, had by this time been living in Galway for three years. The mother of his wife Caroline, also born in England, is from Carraroe so the couple had re-located in that area of Connemara.
“We had some idea of the area before we came, but it still took some getting used to,” explains Pat. “We were going back to a part of Ireland we weren’t all that familiar with — and we were also in the heart of the Gaeltacht. You couldn’t have got a bigger contrast with London or Hadley Wood.
“But I loved the area. I’ve always loved the spirituality of Connemara, and the people couldn’t have been more friendly and helpful. But it still took some getting used to. There was no disguising the fact we were outsiders.”
Billy agrees: “It was a serious culture shock. It definitely took some settling in. Working in little towns like Oughterard seemed a million miles away from the Arsenal stadium.”
But settle in they did, and soon the Iverna Cottage Bed and Breakfast guest house was taking shape. The house, overlooking Galway Bay, took 16 months to build.
It’s designed as a traditional West of Ireland stone building, but inside are all the comforts you’d expect, including central heating, en suite bedrooms and a fantastic library with a huge selection of books ranging from classic Irish literature to philosophy — and all stops in between.
In the middle of Spiddal
“We live in the middle of a Gaeltacht area,” explains Pat, “so not only were we blow-ins, we were also non Gaelgoirs. We didn’t speak the language. It could have been a stumbling block.
“When Willie was still working as a welder he could have felt excluded. He might have been in a gang of half dozen people, with everyone speaking Irish but for him. But it wasn’t a deliberate attempt to leave him out — Irish is the first language and that’s that.
“It didn’t bother Willie one bit. And as I said, we got nothing but friendliness from the neighbours.”
For the two sons, Billy and Paul who were both born in England and who are married to second-generation Irish women, the situation might have been more difficult — after all this really is a place where the people spoke a language ‘the strangers do not know’.
But again Pat is upbeat: “But sure, we brought our own community with us, so even if it took us a while to settle in, we always had the family.”
Pat also spread her wings as far as Galway city. “I realised that if I was going to go into the catering trade, then I’d really need to take the bull by the horns. So I took a diploma in marketing in the Institute of Technology. I was happy with that, so I then decided I wanted to do something for myself. So just for good measure did a diploma in English literature.
“I’ve always been interested in the spiritual side of things, and literature and philosophy are ways of exploring that.”
Pat’s outlook on life, her friendliness and personality, are undoubtedly big factors in the success of the Farrells’ bed and breakfast business. The visitors’ book is full of compliments and praise both for the standard of the accommodation and food to the friendliness and welcoming atmosphere of the Iverna Cottage.
The Bridgestone Guide to Irish accommodation and Sawday’s ‘Special Places To Stay In Ireland’ both give the place a glowing report.
Now, it would have to be said this is not the cheapest place on the west coast to stay. You’ll pay ›80 per room, about fifty quid for the room for two of you. And yes, you might even get a hotel for that sort of money.
But what you won’t get is one of the finest breakfasts you’ll ever clap eyes on — full cooked Irish breakfast, freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh pancakes cooked in front of your very eyes. Plus, you can have it any time you want.
“A lot of bed and breakfast places over here don’t like catering for Irish people,” laughs Pat, “because they think they don’t get up in the morning. Well, we actually have a lot of Irish families staying, and I don’t want to say they’re any keener to lie in the bed in the morning than anyone else. But certainly I don’t mind when they get up.”
Mind you, it’s not just Irish people who come and stay with the Farrells. The visitors’ book contains entries from all over the world — just in the last few pages there are dozens of recommendations from Americans who spend their days driving languidly through Connemara at 5mph (Paul Farrell often overtakes them). There are also visitors from Canada, Spain, Germany, and, oddly enough, Turkmenistan. All sing the praises of the hospitality and comfort of the Farrells’ stone house.
Delivering the goods
As Pat dispenses her breakfasts, and charms her guests, what of her sons? Fear not. The ever-enterprising Farrell boys now have their own transport business — one articulated lorry and a couple of vans. Paul, Billy and their father Willie all help out in the firm, as well at the wives Jenny and Caroline — when they’re not looking after their respective children Hamish and Lorna.
The company is a nationwide enterprise — Farrell Transport picks up newspapers in Navan, delivers factory parts to Clare, services retail outlets way up North in Lisburn. “When I first moved back,” says Paul, “I was still driving for Transmara. But I decided to branch out on my own and began a motorbike courier service.”
My ears pricked up at the thought of my first meeting with Paul, all those years before on the Seven Sisters Road in London. He continues. “To be honest, it was just too limited — there’s only so much you can deliver on a motor bike. So I traded the motor bike in for a van.”
An excellent choice, I thought to myself.
For more details: Iverna Cottage, Salahoona, Spiddal, Co. Galway. Telephone 00 353 91 553 762. e-mail: ivernacottage@ireland.com
www.ivernacottage.8m.com.
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