Porcelain Nightmares

Paul and the boys have begun compiling a list of the best and worst public men’s rooms in Ireland. So far only the Galway Museum’s adequately maintained facilities have met the minimum qualifications to be on the 'best' list. However, there are numerous nominees vying for spots on the the latter list. Apparently none of the great wealth generated by 'the boom' was allocated for restroom maintenance. At GMIT, for example, there is a beautiful lab with a new $200,000 HPLC unit and other high-tech pharmaceutical analysis equipment. But walk twelve feet down the hall and you’ll find a men’s room that has been devoid of toilet paper for nine straight days and smells like the wretched outhouse at Ol' Virgil Gehering’s lake cabin near Akeley, Minnesota! Trust me. Perhaps the maintenance staff cannot see this particular latrine – like an Irish version of Harry Potter’s Platform 9 ¾. The rest of the campus' personal facilities are not much better, and Paul has started to pack an emergency Charmin roll in his briefcase.

So far though, all pale comparison to the current front runner. The frigid, cobweb-ridden, stench-fest at Powell’s Music Shop in Galway. Perhaps one can glean some form of cultural appreciation by sitting on its decrepit 19th century porcelain throne. Not Theo. "Noooooo way am I goin' on that dad! No way!" Fair enough, kid. Mind you, none of these has so far eclipsed the horror of the Connoco Station men’s room in Kadoka, South Dakota that we experienced 2003. Epic. Alas, we’ve only been here four weeks. Dublin and Cork should provide stiff competition.

Theo and his class at Wilshire Park in Minnesota had their first 'face to face' on-line chat via Skype. It was fun for all involved, and he shared numerous stories with his classmates, including how the great Mud Kraken sucked his right foot down into the mud at Rin Mohr beach last week. The monster released the boy, but his shoe remained and has not been seen since. The kid got a great laugh about it.

Today's Irish blog tune is one of our favorites from the Irish contemporary folk group Clannad, who hail from Co. Donnegal. This song, Skellig, is about the small island off the Kerry coast that was home to monks in the sixth century!