This past weekend I welcomed my first visitor from back home. My uncle Joe flew into Dublin on Friday morning after spending the previous three days exploring Iceland. After hearing about his time exploring the Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon, I might have to fit in a quick trip when I have the time.
In a two months filled with meeting new people and adjusting to living in a new country, I felt a sense of comfort in seeing a familiar face. I grew up in the Boston area with Joe as a constant presence in my life. He frequently attended my sporting events growing up, was the life of the party at family holidays, and has always been one of those “fun” uncles (“funcle” if you will). His visits are always a good time filled with a lot of laughs. However, last weekend, during our time exploring the streets of Dublin, in addition to the laughs and time spent “catching up”, I felt a special connection with Joe that I hadn’t felt before.
Joe played college basketball at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY during the early 90’s. After graduating, he too took a year to continue his playing career in Ireland. As I mentioned in a previous blog, he played for the Tolka Rovers in Dublin. He lived in Athy (a small town just north of Carlow) with a host family and was also heavily involved with coaching youth basketball clubs and teams, just like me. Carlow is littered with street signs that point in the direction of Athy, and each time I walk by them, I take a quick second to think about Joe and how I am experiencing a lot of the same adventures he did back in the day. I had a great time comparing my experience thus far to his and felt that he could relate to my experiences in Ireland. I also enjoyed listening to him talk about how much Dublin, and Ireland as a whole, had changed and developed in the last 25-30 years.
Before making a pit stop at the Cliffs of Moher and flying back to Boston, Joe caught my game against Father Mathews in Cork on Monday. I played pretty well and our team won 93-78 to win our seventh straight game. Throughout my playing career, I’ve been lucky to have such a supportive family when it comes to attending my games (parents, siblings, relatives, etc.), but it felt a little extra special to have that support across the Atlantic.
