A Legend Brought to Life

I was born and raised in Ireland. When I was nine years old, the Doyles moved from the prosperous town of Nenagh, in County Tipperary, to a tiny place called Carrick-on-Shannon, in County Leitrim. Before we moved, we knew nothing about Carrick, except that it was small, with fewer than a thousand inhabitants, and situated on a great bend of the river Shannon. Before we moved, people commiserated with my father. His employer had moved him to a cold, damp place where farming land was poor and, worse, it was situated near that mysterious place called “the North.” Nenagh was a solid, ancient town of 5,000 people. Carrick-on-Shannon was a small dot on the map. Today, all of Ireland is prosperous and gripped by a nouveau riche vulgarity. But Leitrim is still separate from that.

We thrived in Carrick. It was indeed small, and cold in winter, but it had a desolate beauty and a peaceful atmosphere. The locals were welcoming, soft-spoken people who took great pleasure in song...