We finally came to the end of the tour. Twelve couples had lived and played together for nine nights. We’d gotten to know our three Irish tour hosts pretty well. We’d shared jokes and could pretty much say anything we wanted without fear of criticism or retribution. It was good.
On our last night, we gathered in the hotel bar after a big meal at Vaughan’s Pub in Lisconnar, County Clare. Our gig at McHugh’s Pub next door had been cancelled because one of the McHugh’s regulars had passed away several nights ago, and the owners thought it wouldn’t be right to have live music there on the day of the wake. So we decided to entertain our friends and the hotel patrons in the bar.
The evening started with an extended version of the old American folk song “Goodnight Irene.” We’d been asked by tour guide Tom Piggot to each write a verse or two of our own for the song to commemorate some experience we’d had on the tour. It is a tradition that Tom has brought forward from each of the tours he’d hosted.
As the verses started to roll out, I could see why this was a great tradition. Each person’s verse brought forth another shared experience. Some were timid, some were ribald. The prize for best verse went to my friend Tom Ruegger, who found a new rhyme for the word “Guinness” and also managed to work an alternated meaning of the word Bulmer’s, the name of a powerful Irish cider, into the mix.
Tom Ruegger then brought out cartoon drawings he’d been making all day. Each one captured a really funny scene from our trip. Tom doesn’t just draw cartoons for fun, like I sing and play the guitar for fun. No, Tom has made his name in the LA animation world by producing shows such as Scooby Doo, Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures. He worked directly for Steven Spielberg on the latter. To get a quick taste of Tom’s work, google Wacko’s World and get ready for two minutes of absolute pleasure.
We’d had a great night the previous evening. Doug and Beth Morgan celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary with us at the Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna. We had wonderful food and drink, and we were entertained by three sisters who played traditional Irish music for us during and after dinner. We added a few songs of our own, including an unrehearsed version of “I Will” by the Beatles and a version of James Taylor’s “Something In the Way She Moves” which Doug dedicated and sang to Beth.
Tom Piggot asked us to come up with a name for our tour, another tradition that has served his clients well. We first thought we’d call it the Happy Cow Tour. Michael Gilligan from Jacksonville continually remarked on how he’d like to come back in his next life as an Irish cow because they seemed more content than American cows and had better scenery to enjoy. After our dinner at the Wild Honey Inn, Dan Wright decided that we should call it the “It’s Only Money Tour.”
Dan and I had visited Ireland in the summer of 1987. We played twenty two rounds of golf in twenty one days. At least that’s the way I remember it. We’d promised each other at the end of that trip to return to Ireland someday with “our women”, as we’d said back in those less politically-correct days. Dan was best man when Betsy and I married, and he has settled into a wonderful life with Therese Spellacy, who enjoyed visiting her ancestral home with us for the first time.
On the last night, Dan and I closed down the hotel bar with a pint of Guinness and a promise to come back again someday. Oh, and we also promised to write down as much of this trip as we could remember and send each other a copy in the next four weeks. It was a great way to end the last night.
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