Irish Immigration invites you to experience life in Ireland: Read Claire Keegan's "Walking on Blue Fields," where the distant Irish countryside is filled with an inexplicable melancholy in each short story, like the morning mist that is thick and unyielding, conjuring images you often think of, while what awaits is an unexpected interlude; like the deep sea, where beneath the calm surface, waves surge continuously; like the deep blue lake under the moonlight, so tranquil it leaves one bewildered. Her short stories are filled with desire and despair, with a calm rhythm and concise wording, leaving a lasting impression after reading.
Author Claire Keegan was born in a village in County Wicklow. I recall having left my footprints in County Wicklow, Ireland, in the autumn of 2012. I rediscovered the photos I took and reminisced.
If you are a reader who enjoys Joyce and Yeats, your understanding of Ireland may be distant yet familiar. Their poetry and prose-like novels feel like long-lost friends, though you have never met.
The Celtic nation is, "a wise nation that has nurtured great literary figures such as Wilde, Shaw, Yeats, Joyce, and Beckett."
My impressions of Dublin were beyond my expectations. Bookstores, prestigious schools, ancient libraries, Irish pubs—too many places to linger. Before entering Dublin, I first arrived in County Wicklow, unknowingly stepping into this dreamlike estate.
Hidden among the rolling mountains is the Irish garden - Powerscourt Gardens. Silent, vast, melancholic.
Exquisite horticulture, strolling in the autumn rain amidst the deep fall. I remember wearing a black short down jacket, blue jeans, and a pair of black GEOX flats, wandering alone in the grand estate.
In the tall woods, the trees are adorned in autumn colors, with fallen leaves covering the ground, crunching underfoot, making me feel as if I had entered a scene described in a novel, surrounded by a faint sense of loneliness and melancholy.
Descending the steps, I approached a tranquil pool of water, with raindrops falling on the lake's surface, resembling a giant fishing net. Surrounding the pool were dense plants, and I distinctly remember a massive old tree, already full of autumn's essence. I gazed at it, feeling only admiration and reverence, quietly standing beside it. The drizzle intensified, and my umbrella proved ineffective; the mood of wandering alone seemed to render the umbrella an unnecessary companion.
The nearby garden, the pool, and the distant mountains blended seamlessly, beautiful like an Impressionist painting.
It was only after returning home that I learned Powerscourt Estate is one of the most beautiful estates in Ireland. I heard that this estate was originally an important strategic stronghold for the Normans when they settled in Ireland in the late 12th century. After a long passage of over 100 years, through design, construction, and restoration, the estate has achieved its stunning garden landscape today.