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12 Another Visit to Carna 9 November to 18 December 19441 Thursday 9.11.44 and Friday 10.11.44 By train from Dublin to Galway. Bus to Carna was punctual and as I hadn’t eaten anything since morning, I decided to stay overnight in Galway. I had a meal and went out to An Caisleán Nua to visit Liam Mac Coisdeala – he was not at home. Returned to Galway again and I went to the pictures and then to bed. I deposited my bags ready for the morning bus and set off west to Carna on the bicycle – a quiet, soft day – a little misting rain now and then. I arrived in Carna in time for tea. I went directly to my lodging house – Mrs [Sorcha] Hernon, Roisín na Mainiach. I was made very welcome, given a big meal and talked until bedtime at twelve o’clock. Saturday 11.11.44 I went to Carna in the morning and visited my friends there and those along the way as well. On this visit, I took great note of the fact that everyone I met, whether I knew them or not, greeted me with a laugh and said ‘Good day’ and ‘How are you?’. Everyone here knows me now. I spent the afternoon indoors with the family [Ó hIarnáin] – my papers hadn’t arrived yet – and the evening with my friends in Maínis.2 Sunday 12.11.44 Attended first Mass, made visits, had dinner, more visits, the rosary in the church3 and the evening in Maínis. Monday 13.11.44 Spent the morning removing the nails and soles from a pair of my heavy shoes – they were rotten, worn, leaking, and I will have to get leather to repair them. My papers arrived by post and I stayed indoors writing until bedtime (very heavy rain at night). 207 208 Going to the Well for Water Tuesday 14.11.44 Wrote two letters this morning and the diary. Did that and sought advice from Pádraig [Ó hIarnáin] in this house about my shoes. He tells me it would be worth my while repairing them as I had planned, and we discussed how to go about fixing one of his shoes. After dinner, I went to Colm Ó Caodháin. I found him down at the harbour, preparing his sailing boat to go scallop-fishing – the season is starting tomorrow (from mid-November to the end of June.)4 He was pitch black from head to toe from tarring the boat – his hands were black, greasy – and he was sorry he could not shake hands with me as he should. His brother Pádraig was working along with him and we spent a few pleasant hours until nightfall laughing and sparring with one another. We had to take the curach then to pull the large boat to the big harbour at full tide. Pádraig and I hooked a set of oars each in the curach and set to rowing and Colm set to steering the big boat and singing. We moored the boat and we came back to tie the curach and then we went to the house. I had been there beforehand and found them well and very welcoming. (Terrible rain showers and we were wet.) Colm greeted everyone on his way into the house (he always gives a greeting when he goes into his own house) and we were greeted, as was proper, and we sat down. Colm and Pádraig immediately started eating the potatoes and tea was made for us. When we had finished, we drew chairs up to the fire and started to cut tobacco and to fill and light our pipes and to talk. Later I saw that the day’s work was not finished. Colm and Pádraig started to work on the new sail they had made from the calico that the Commission had sent to Colm.5 They had finished it, except that they had to put tar on the rope and on the edges and they had to put the ‘ribbon knot’ on the waxed cords. I was taught to make the ribbon knot – it is a knot that you put at the end of the waxed cord to prevent it from fraying. I put that knot in all of fifty waxed cords. By the time I had done that it was midnight and time to end my first visit to Colm for this journey...

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