Take a virus-free vacation back to your roots
SUNDAY in this country town is still synonymous with Mass, though spreading the good news doesn’t currently seem nearly as effective as the coronavirus is at transmitting disease, having spread from China to at least 40 countries, with over 82,000 global-confirmed cases in every continent except Antarctica.
The virus is affecting business markets, though some wonder who exactly the so-called global village benefits apart from those international chains and giant conglomerates that make our cities and increasingly even our towns all look the same, simultaneously destroying local businesses that give communities their cohesion. The associated travel lies behind the disease’s escalation, including its inevitable arrival here
Ironically, the virus is an uncomfortable reminder that, for all our sophisticated ways, we are just as vulnerable as we were in the bad old days of the Black Death, which wiped out over 25 million people in Europe between 1347 and 1350. Friar
John Clyn, of this county, recorded its arrival into Ireland through the ports of Dublin and Drogheda in 1348, describing its rapid spread until an entry written in a different hand chillingly records: ‘here it seems the author died.’
Though this latest lethal bug might make us question whether the heavily hyped travel bug is all it’s cracked up to be, and not just because of its impact on the environment. Perhaps that great humanitarian Hubert Butler had a point when he said every day out of Ireland is a day wasted. For in this increasingly secular age, we seem to have swapped a focus on the ‘flight into Egypt’ for the flight of us idgets, legging it overseas like lemmings at every opportunity. It’s surely curious that folk who are lucky enough to live on a land dubbed ‘the Emerald Isle’ still think faraway hills are greener, despite Australia all too literally on fire and killer heat waves across mainland Europe.
Indeed, many supposedly exotic destinations have lost their charm or authenticity as they self-consciously cater for tourists you wonder why some bother, given the way they view the world mostly through their mobile phones. If life can only be understood backwards, the internet has made the ride all too virtual.
Previous generations who holidayed at home arguably enjoyed more adventure and diversity in other towns and counties. Certainly, my grandmother seemed tolerant rather than entranced by foreign trips foisted on her by her wellmeaning adult children. Though visiting her son who lived in Austria always gave her the giggles, thanks to the abundance of road signs wishing her ‘Gute Fahrt’.
Speaking of bodily functions, the alternative meaning of ‘movement’ might be closer to the reality of much international travel, with all its stress and security checks.
Maybe being grounded by germs will help us realise that, wherever you go, there you are. Making every day, and not just Sunday, a day of rest.