By Christine Mc Cafferty

Shannon and Christine were backpacking across Ireland. The two young women had a wonderful time in Northern Ireland， despite the political upheaval there， then went south entering the Republic of Ireland at Blacklion，2 also known as Learga， the Irish name for Blacklion.

As we crossed the border， we got a ride almost straight away. It was with a Scotsman who I thought to be the most boring man God had put on this earth. All we could do was yawn through his one-sided conversation which droned on3 and on. We never asked to get out the car though as a free ride is a free ride， and we were quite open-minded about where we were going. He was headed in the right direction too. Our driver travelled to Sligo on the west coast of Ireland， then south through Ballinrobe and onto Galway，4 a lively port town.

He dropped us off right in the centre of Galway at a place called Eyre Square5. We thought…what now？ In fact， we were even a little bit down… We tried speaking to a few young guys but had no luck making new connections. So we went off to find the nearest youth hostel6 and begged for work in exchange for accommodation. The two male managers eventually agreed， but they said that the hostel was full and the only space would be in their own bedrooms. We had few choices and were tired of carrying our backpacks so we put them down and said we would return shortly. Staying with them was not an option so we urgently needed to go looking for jobs. Our money situation was dire7.

We went into shops and restaurants and asked for work but we had no luck at all， until Shannon put her head through the window of a pub to see the live band inside playing Irish folksongs. An older man called to her so we went in and that was how we met Frank and a group of his friends， including Sean.

We didnt realise just how lucky we were. Frank Sheridan was the captain of the Galway Harbour and one of the kindest， most helpful and jolliest people we would meet on our year of backpacking travels. He was well known and loved and also well connected with his role as master of the port， a position he would hold for 22 years.

His work was demanding. There is a narrow channel into the port and the meeting of the River Corrib with the stormy Atlantic Ocean makes for a difficult approach for ships.8 Many nights the harbourmaster got out of bed himself to guide ships in. He was known to be calm， even in stormy weather when saving the lives of people whose boats were in trouble in the rough ocean. When he wasnt doing this， he indulged his passion for sailing or did voluntary work with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution （RNLI），9 a charity that saves lives at sea.

We joined them in the pub and they bought us a few drinks. It was laughter and chat all round as they listened in delight to the tales of us two young backpackers， and felt very sorry for us over our financial situation. It was not long before Frank had to go as he had to check on a Dutch dredger10 working in the harbour. He invited us along. We took a tug boat11 to the dredger which was working on clearing the port channel.

Netherlands is a low-lying country and much of the land is reclaimed from the sea.12 Long ago moving soil and mud to clear water channels and build up land was mostly done by hand， using spades and wheelbarrow， and occasionally horse and cart.13 Centuries of fighting flooding and inundations in the villages and towns resulted in the country being on the forefront of new dredging technologies.14 Dutch dredging companies and contractors15 gained much experience and were highly regarded worldwide. They still are， rivalled16 only by China.

It was dark already and the Dutchmen on the dredger were in a cheerful mood. They had a bar on board， and the three of us were soon having a few drinks there too. It turned into quite a party. Frank was so impressed by Shannons and my happy-go-lucky attitude and nature， he said that we could stay at his house for as long as we wanted to. Frank had far too much to drink by the time we got back to his car so Shannon had to drive…yes once again…without a license. Frank didnt know that， of course！ We went to the hostel to get our backpacks. The two managers， who had made us beg for a place， suddenly were very disappointed. I could not have imagined anything worse than sharing rooms with the two of them！

Franks house was lovely. It had windows with sweeping views17 over the harbour as he had to keep an eye on the weather and ships entering and leaving. From there we watched the moon over the ocean. He was a complete gentleman and Shannon and I settled in a comfortable bed， once again barely able to believe our good fortune. In the morning， Frank pointed out the Aran Islands out to the west. He said his friend Sean could take us on a sailing trip there the next day. “Yippee！18 Thats exactly what we want to do，” we shouted happily.

That day we set off to explore Galway. There were many stone-clad cafes19， art galleries， museums and historical sites. We loved walking the winding lanes； one can still see parts of the medieval city walls.20

One might think of Ireland as quite cut off from the rest of the world， it being an island on the far northwest of Europe. But the fact is Ireland， including Galway， was a stopover for many different sea-faring cultures all through the centuries of its history.21

Originally a settlement22 of fishermen lived in Galway. Monks from abroad set up monasteries23 and the local people became Christian. The Scandinavian Vikings，24 from areas that are today in the countries of Denmark and Sweden， attacked in 927， but did not stay. The local King of Connacht constructed a fort there in 1124.25 However， in 1232 the territory was captured from the Irish OFlahertys by the Anglo Normans， the Norman French who in 1066 had invaded England.26 During the Middle ages， Galway was ruled by 14 merchant families of Norman descent27. Galways location on the coast and its natural harbour resulted in a successful trade with both Portugal and Spain and led to the city becoming rich. One of our first stops was St. Nicholas Collegiate Church28， a medieval church still used by the people of Galway. Christopher Columbus， who is famed with discovering America， worshipped here in 1477 on his visit to Galway. He was an Italian who， under the patronage29 of the Spanish kings， explored many parts of the world. It is believed that in Galway he spoke with， and maybe learned from， other navigators and explorers.

These connections to the ocean didnt always bring good fortune though. In 1649， bubonic plague， spread by rats and known as the Black Death，30 was introduced by a Spanish ship. Thousands died and many Galway residents fled the city.

The 14 ruling families， tribes as they were called， eventually became Gaelicized31 （Irish themselves） and so were treated with suspicion by the British when Britain started to dominate Ireland in the 1600s. This led to a decline in Galway. Today， however it is a busy port and a thriving cultural centre of festivals， music and entertainment.

1. the harbourmaster of Galway： 戈爾韋的港務長，主要負責港口航行規(guī)則的實施、確保船只航行安全以及港口設備的正常使用。后文的captain of the Galway Harbour 和master of the port也指此。戈爾韋（Galway）是愛爾蘭共和國西部港市，戈爾韋郡首府，位于科里布湖通戈爾韋灣入口處，毗鄰大西洋。

2. upheaval： 動蕩，動亂；Blacklion： 愛爾蘭卡文郡西部的邊境小鎮(zhèn)。

3. drone on： 嘮嘮叨叨地說下去。

4. Sligo： 斯萊戈，是愛爾蘭共和國斯萊戈郡的一個城鎮(zhèn)，位于該郡的北部海濱；Ballinrobe： 巴林羅布，愛爾蘭共和國梅郁郡的一個城鎮(zhèn)。

5. Eyre Square： 埃爾廣場，戈爾韋郡的城市公園。

6. youth hostel： 青年旅舍。

7. dire： 極差的，糟糕的。

8. 連接港口的河道非常狹窄，科里布河在此匯入波濤洶涌的大西洋，使得船只靠岸非常困難。River Corrib：科里布河，是貫穿戈爾韋市中心最主要的一條河，從科里布湖流向戈爾韋灣，匯入大西洋。

9. indulge： 使……沉溺于；Royal National Lifeboat Institution：皇家全國救生艇協(xié)會，是一個提供不列顛群島附近海域救生服務的慈善組織。

10. dredger： 疏浚船，挖泥船。動詞原形為dredge（疏浚，挖掘）。

11. tug boat： 駁船。

12. Netherlands： 荷蘭；reclaim：開墾，改造。

13. spade： 鏟，鍬；wheelbarrow：手推車；cart： 運貨馬車。

14. 幾個世紀以來，這個國家與洪水的抗爭使其擁有了領先的疏浚新技術。inundation： 洪災。

15. contractor： 承包商。

16. rival： 與……相匹敵，比得上。

17. sweeping view： 清晰的視野。

18. Yippee： 開心或激動時叫出來的感嘆詞。

19. stone-clad cafe： 石材覆面的咖啡館。

20. winding： 彎曲的，蜿蜒的；medieval： 中世紀的。

21. stopover： 中轉地；sea-faring： 航海的。

22. settlement： 村落，拓居地。

23. monastery： 寺院，修道院。

24. Scandinavian： 斯堪的納維亞（人）的，北歐（人）的；Viking：（8—11世紀的）北歐海盜。

25. King of Connacht：（5—15世紀）愛爾蘭西部康諾特國的統(tǒng)治者；fort：堡壘，要塞。

26. OFlahertys： 奧弗萊厄蒂，一個愛爾蘭蓋爾家族，起源于10世紀，主要集中于如今的戈爾韋地區(qū)；Anglo-Normans： 諾曼系英國人；the Norman French who in 1066 had invaded England： 指1066年法國諾曼底公爵威廉一世對英格蘭的入侵，史稱諾曼征服。

27. descent： 血統(tǒng)，祖先。

28. St. Nicholas Collegiate Church： 圣尼古拉協(xié)同教堂，建于1320年，是位于戈爾韋的一座中世紀教堂。

29. patronage： 資助，恩惠。

30. bubonic plague：流行性淋巴腺鼠疫；Black Death：黑死病。

31. Gaelicized：（被）蓋爾化的，（變得）具有蓋爾風格的。