As someone who celebrates her Scandinavian roots, I was surprised to learn that many of Ireland's port cities were "founded" by the Vikings. This includes Dublin, where the Vikings ruled for nearly 3 centuries. Even its name comes from the Norse word of Dyflin. And at least two other towns on our route were Viking settlements ... Waterford (fjord) and Kinsale. So we would expect to see more red-headed Irish in those areas ... thanks to the marauding Vikings.
And why was I thinking about the Vikings (aka, the Scandinavians ... the Danes, actually). It was part of a long conversation with my mom (who suggested a great mystery to binge-watch on Hulu). As we talked and I listened to all she had to do, it occurred to me that my mom carries the best of the Viking genes: she is stoic as she faces pain of any sort (I cite you her fall) and stalwart as she continues to "keep her own house."
Plus Mom reminded me of an important tenet of travel as we were reminiscing about the England trip that celebrated her 80th birthday: while the cities, like Dublin and London, are fascinating ... it was the countryside that won our hearts. We have 3 days in Dublin and then, for the remainder of the trip, we will be in relatively small towns where we hope to see the "real" Irish. And apparently, many of them will be red-headed!
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