Temple Hill House

 On Sunday morning, 1st October, I felt a sweet peace as I considered what was my last Sunday morning in the US, and at our home of 26 years, before leaving to relocate to Ireland.  I went for I visited with Mara in the quiet of the house and then went to sit with my mother and tell her goodbye for now. Adieu, as it were.  Mom is now in her 90th year and is as robust mentally as ever.  She stays active and independent and researches everything, including reading every piece of mail, it seems.  Those that do have her interest get notes in the margins and underlines through the marketing piece.

My brother, “Unca Kelly,” showed up after a while, and we said goodbye for now.  

The general conference was starting, and everyone was there to say goodbye and or watch the conference.  Jeanette drove me to the airport after stopping in for a few minutes to say goodbye to Selah and DeShaun  at their home.  Jeanette would be following me a few days later and join me in our new country and home. 

The trip over was my 17th trip to Ireland in the last 24 months.  It was sweet and uneventful.  My seatmate turned out to be an American immigration lawyer living in Easky (pop. about 200, near Sligo).  She was shocked that I loved Sligo so much and that I had been to Easky.  I went there once to see a castle by the sea, returned another time to hike Benbulbin and returned another time with Jeanette, Sumner, Riss and Noa. 

Our finance director from work (he’s actually from Limerick but you know what I mean), graciously picked me up at the airport and drove me to what is now called The Neptune House at Temple Crescent.  The Georgian manor house was known for decades as Temple Hill House, and the road immediately out front is called Templeview.  Indeed, the entrance to the property includes pillars with stone inscriptions designating the property as "Temple View."  

Pulling up out front, I was in awe.  I had seen many pictures of the house and walk-through videos, but nothing compared to seeing our new home.  The Georgian manor house was built in 1767 and includes a rich history of British Lords and troops, secret meetings to broker peace in the 80s led by the Irish political party of Sinn Fein (“shinn fain”), temporary student housing, and decades wherein unwed mothers dropped off thousands of babies for adoption, of which 572 of those are recorded to have been adopted to American families abroad beginning in the 1930s I believe.  The home has been completely restored and is magnificent with its 18-foot, ornately plastered ceilings, cornicing, and architecture. The grounds around us are landscaped with shrubs, trees, flowers, and lawns.  The chandeliered foyer past the grand portico entryway is magnificent.  The side doors lead to the upstairs and downstairs apartments, which one finds by ascending or descending with white staircases lit by temple-like chandeliers. Our home takes up the entire main floor, and we're told it is the most ornate of all the four “apartments.” Our home, and the whole building, is library quiet. It's just amazing how quiet it is.  

“Apartment 2” is fully furnished except for some odds and ends one is expected to provide themselves.  95% of rental places in Ireland are furnished to some degree.

 

    

We live in an area of South Dublin that is an intersection of Blackrock, Monkstown, and Seapoint.  Beautiful homes and neighborhoods surround us with so much Irish, English, and European architecture and vibe.  Walking at night, one readily smells the burning of wood and peat in fireplaces.  Quaint, ivy-covered window frames often reveal dimly lit rooms nestled among the constant presence homes behind stone walls; hiding homes in plain sight it seems.  

On my first Thursday evening here, I finally went for a walk and found myself at the seaside within five or six minutes!  I was shocked as to how close we are to the sea, though four of our 5'x8' windows show Dublin Bay in the Irish Sea down the hill.  It was and is as glorious to me to be near the sea as to live in this magnificent manor on Temple Hill.  I have always loved the ocean (the Irish refer to it as “the sea”) and now find myself living just a few minutes walk from Seapoint Beach.  

While passing by and marveling at people swimming at Seapoint, I stopped and interrupted a conversation between two ladies in their late 70s or early 80s who had just come out of the cold sea from a swim.  Standing in the wind in their wet swimming suits and answering questions from an inquisitive newly-relocated American stranger was an indication of their heartiness, cheeriness, and willingness to lend a hand.  "Oh, Shannon," Barbara from England called after me, "be sure to swim at high tide but come down at low tide to see where the rocks are."  That is a sound piece of advice.  

I counted maybe 15 people swimming, including a man with his little yapping dog.  He came up out of the water to calm his dog, and I wondered out loud why there was no wetsuit for his swim in the sea.  Having discovered my American-ness, Liam quipped with a wink and a smile,  "No wetsuit hair!  We're reel men."  (try the Irish accent on that one) Incidentally, walking with Jeanette at Seapoint on Sunday morning, we found maybe 50-60 swimmers there in the cold sea—groups of men, groups of women, athletes, families, solo swimmers, geriatrics, and an occasional smiling Labrador in the area where dogs are allowed.  And they all seemed exhilarated by their time at the water.

The following afternoon, Jeanette arrived in Ireland and was picked up and delivered to her new home, the Temple Hill House.  For the first time in over 40 years, she was to begin a new life, in a foreign land, with me, as empty-nesters. Our book of raising Mahaffey children has been pretty much written now as we move into the "influence and advise" stage of having adult children who are or will be married who are or will be parents.  It is a significant shift in our lives-- particularly for Jeanette, as this has been a primary focus of her life. Indeed, it is a huge shift and couldn't have begun better than arriving at Temple Hill House.  

From that moment until now, she and I have been in awe at what has happened to us, and this beautiful place and magnificent home is ours for the next year or so.  Both physically, spiritually, and mentally, we have had our jaws drop in amazement at this experience!