Money-what?

Today, Mum's admission into hospital for her surgery was delayed at least a day due to a ridiculously inept, frustrating system. Grrr.

Frayed nerves aren't much fun, so distraction was required.
Distraction in the form of the leader of the free world - or his family tree anyway.
Off to Moneygall we ventured.

Moneygall is approximately ten minutes from my home town.
Moneygall is a single street with a few side roads for good measure.
Moneygall has a population of approximately 300 people.
Moneygall has five shops, a church, two pubs, a school and a police station.
As of May 2011, Moneygall now has an American money tree.

U.S.A President Barack Obama visited the town this year as part of his trip to Ireland. His ancestry can be traced back to the town a couple of hundred years back.
The man has singlehandedly (well, with an entourage of hundreds) turned around the town's flailing economy and even managed to give a whole town a paint job.

So this afternoon, we all piled into the car, my brother at the wheel.
Magoo, with no idea what Moneygall meant or even related too, sang "we're off to Moneygall" all the way. Mum laughed along warning us of the anticlimax ahead.

Well, Mum was wrong.
I was far from underwhelmed by Moneygall. I loved it. All 500 metres of it!

The place looks absolutely gorgeous (well done, Dulux - and the local police who had to convince the single unwilling resident to go with the makover). The atmosphere in Moneygall is reminiscent of a quaint movie set. Little country town comes good. I'm pretty sure there is a film in the pipeline there.

The streets are lined with alternating Irish and American flags. The gift shop is on Obama overload, the only cafe has been renamed after the president and the pub Obama drank in is a shrine to the man. Cheesy, McCheesy cheese fun. Did I mention I loved it?!

Moneygall / Obamaland was a most worthy distraction.
Star spangled banners and all.

First Lady Shar :-)