Seamus Ennis

Took a spin on the bike up to the Naul, a pleasant little village about 30km from Dublin. Naul (Irish "An Aill", meaning "the cliff": often called "The Naul" in English, a bi-lingual tautology) used to be on the main road from Dublin to Belfast many years ago, but has long been by-passed by the N1 and then the M1. It is now a lovely sleepy little village. Seamus Ennis (1919-1982), a well known uileann piper, was from the Naul and today's blip is a statue of him in the centre of the town.

There was a beautiful red chestnut tree where Seamus is now sitting and for a while I would cycle up to the Naul in May every year, just to see the tree in flower. But it was old and diseased and, with one thing and another, I hadn't been for a number of years. I was disappointed this year to find that the tree has gone, presumably taken down because it was too diseased. It has been replaced by a young oak, and I wish the young tree a long life, but I will miss the red chestnut tree!