What draws us to Ireland? About two million Americans visited Ireland in the years just before the pandemic, and a taxi driver told me Thursday that tourism levels have returned to their pre-Covid levels.

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SOMEWHERE OVER GREENLAND — First, I apologize for the dateline. I never was crazy about those abstract datelines. Second, our American Airlines flight from Dublin to Dallas didn’t literally fly over Greenland. We missed the southern tip of that massive island, but only barely.

But I didn’t want to use a Dublin dateline, because I’m not there anymore. And not being there anymore is the theme of my final travelblog about this Irish adventure.

When we got back to Dublin on Wednesday, via train from Cork, a sense of familiarity settled in. I had been alive for 554,683 hours. Only 63 had been spent in Dublin. 

Yet I knew all kinds of landmarks. Felt the rhythm of the city, from the students marching to school to the electric bicycles careening around corners to the sounds emitting from pubs on every block.

I wasn’t home, but I felt at home. 

Ireland has a certain allure for many Americans, and I’m not sure what it is.

The mother of all Irish stores is Blarney Woollen Mills, the largest Irish heritage store in the world. - by Berry Tramel https://t.co/MTts1q1nSY #SelloutCrowd

— Sellout Crowd (@selloutcrowd_) May 8, 2024

Ireland is beautiful in a variety of ways, but no more beautiful than Canada. The True North Strong and Free will stop you in your tracks from far and wide.

Ireland is green. They call it the Emerald Isle, and it is that. People told me it’s the greenest green they’d ever seen, and it was gorgeously green. But not as green as the grass and ivy at Wrigley Field.

Ireland is friendly.

Ireland is hospitable. The Irish people indeed were lovely. Our hosts at the Aloft Hotel in Dublin greeted us Wednesday like long lost friends and remembered we were there the week before. But people are nice in a lot of places; the New Orleans Marriott Warehouse District employees set the standard during the OU-Auburn Sugar Bowl.

Ireland is historic. I love history, and Ireland has it in abundance. We passed a pub Wednesday evening that noted it was established in 1754. Which means it’s 556 years younger than the oldest pub in Dublin, the Brazen Head. But lots of places have history, too. In Rome, I toured the Colosseum and walked the Forum. They’re older than the Brazen Head by more than a millennium.

Ireland has great food. Of course, it helps if you like seafood. I love fish. I’d be fine eating seafood every day. But lots of places have great food. Chicago. San Antonio. Oklahoma. I can keep going if you want me to.

Ireland has great music. From the high-energy, uptempo folk songs that dominate the pub scene to the slow, soul-stirring ballads that tell an Irish story, the music connects with many a visitor. But even in Irish stores and restaurants and hotel lobbies, you’re as likely to hear American pop as native Irish tunes. They like our music as much as we like theirs.

So what is it? What draws us to Ireland? About two million Americans visited Ireland in the years just before the pandemic, and a taxi driver told me Thursday that tourism levels have returned to their pre-COVID levels.

It’s all of the above, of course. It’s the beauty and the hospitality and the uniqueness and the history and the food.

There is little language barrier, which doesn’t hurt. And there is no American resentment; everyone we encountered was thrilled to connect with Americans, and they all seemed to know more about our nation than we knew about theirs, outside of what we’ve learned in the last 11 days.

And maybe this explains it. Ireland is distinctive. Every place is different. But Ireland seems more distinctive than most. Seems more its own place.

I know, Germany and France, Spain and Switzerland, Norway and Belgium, they’ve all retained their identity. But has any nation in Europe retained its identity like Ireland?

I don’t know. I’m no expert. I just know that Ireland has an allure, and when you go, you’ll feel at home.

From the Wild Atlantic Way on the west coast to ancient Dublin to the rolling hills of County Cork, Ireland delivered in every way. So I’m like the protagonist in Don McLean’s great folk song, “Mountains o Mourne,” and can’t wait to get back to Ireland.

“But for all his great powers, he’s wishful like me;

“To be back, where the dark mourne sweeps down to the sea.”