Sensible traveler Destinations Where they went Get in gear
Biking Eire for a cause
By Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent, 12/29/2002
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Sensible traveler Destinations Where they went Get in gear
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The Watertown public relations consultant served on the center's board from 1994 to 1999, and it was during that time that she was asked to participate in the group's first cycling fund-raiser, a weeklong bike ride in Ireland where participants raised $2,500 each (or donated the money themselves).
"They said, `We need someone on the board to come do this.' My first reaction was, `Absolutely not. I don't know how to raise $2,500, and I haven't been on a bicycle in 25 years."'
Nonetheless, "I was roped into it," she said, laughing. "It was the best vacation I've ever had."
This past September, Kassa joined the third On Yer Bike trip, which brought in more than $21,000 for the center. Each covers a different part of the country, and this year's was through County Laois (pronounced "leash"), in the heart of Ireland (www.laoistourism.ie). The next one will be in 2004, in Ennis, County Clare. Along with raising money for the center, Kassa said, the ride is "a public relations effort. It validates the center and makes real for the Irish that this is an important organization."
This year's group of 14, all from Massachusetts, included people who walked instead of cycled. For some, it was their first time in Ireland. Brian Byrne, local guide and route planner, grew up in Laois, as did the center's director, Lena Deevy.
The group cycled about 40 miles a day. "We had sunshine the entire trip," Kassa said, unlike the '99 ride, where "we had five days of cold Irish rain." They stayed in the area's largest city, Portlaoise (population 9,500), at the Heritage Hotel, which had just opened. Each day the group would ride somewhere rural, with a van following for food, to do repairs, and to pick up those who needed a break.
"You don't need to be a cyclist to do this trip," she said. "The second day is a hard day, but after that it's fun. I can't even explain how gorgeous it is to be out in the country. It's just a completely different experience."
"We saw not just what everybody else sees of Ireland, but what life was like in Ireland," Kassa said.
The prearranged lunch stops were a highlight.
One was at a place called Abbey Sense Garden in Abbeyleix, which was created by people with disabilities and includes an area with descriptions in Braille. It's connected to a school and workplace, which is where the group lunched. Another day they ate with seniors at the Sue Ryder Centre in Ballyroan, and another lunch was spent at the Timahoe National School, where fifth- and sixth-graders presented them with a signed hurley stick used in the Irish national game, similar to field hockey. The group returned to Timahoe twice, for a fresh lunch and dinner at a farm owned by friends of Deevy.
"The beauty of this trip for me is you see Ireland beyond the tour buses," Kassa said.
Other side trips included a pub in the Slieve Bloom Mountains, with a performance by a dancer and fiddler; a walking tour with a local historian and retired pub owner; and a trip to the Rock of Dunamase near Stradbally, which was used as a fort as early as 140 AD. On their free day, Kassa and a few others took a bus to Kilkenny to see the town and visit the castle. Others went to Dublin, about 50 miles northeast, or to the Cliffs of Moher.
Portlaoise itself was "a nice little Irish town. It has an inordinate number of hostelries, or pubs — 23 — and nice stores." It didn't take long for the Americans to become local celebrities, and they returned home with two articles in regional newspapers about their efforts to raise money for the Irish Immigration Center.
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