Introduction
Whenever people have dreams to go to Ireland, they often talk of old castles, emerald hills, the Shannon River, Dublin, and of course, Guinness. You dream of rainy days in a pub with a pint and a warm bowl of Irish beef stew. You imagine yourself heading out to kiss the Blarney Stone and skipping on the formations at the Giant’s causeway. These are the places that usually come to mind when you say you are going to Ireland. Although in life, there is pleasure in walking the beaten path, some souls find themselves fascinated by the simpler things. Those obscure journeys that provide you with something less written about in a book. That is very much what brought Simon McRae to Ireland.
When Simon was young, he once came across a story in an airplane magazine about a small town by the name of Clifton located on the eastern coast of Ireland. The short article was a guest submission and filled only about a half a page. But that half a page captured Simon’s bright attention and remained circulating in his head for years.
Clifton was not known for their selection of fine dining but Simon was not going for the food. They also were not known for anything special about their ale, although the brew was always strong but Simon was not going for the ale. They did not offer much in the form of entertainment. Again, Simon was not going for theatrical delights.
There was something unique about Clifton that made this town stand out from much of the world. Despite its special feature, it did not attract many tourists to the area, for again, Clifton did not offer much in the way of food, ale, entertainment, or accommodations that would usually bring people by. So what would bring a bright young man like Simon across the Atlantic Ocean to this particular spot in Ireland.
The most unknown grand thing that Clifton was known (but mostly unknown) for was rainbows. Rainbows, that is what Simon McRae was seeking out. Now it is not necessarily the frequency of rainbows that makes Clifton stand above the rest, although you would expect the seaside town to be well primed for them. Clifton was known (but unknown) for their rainbows, because for reasons unknown, their rainbows were said to be the most vibrant remarkable rainbows one could ever see.
On a perfect day, as Simon read in a forgotten back page of a magazine, the rainbows could make a perfect arch from one side of Clifton to the other and if one stood in the middle of town, you could see it in its entirety in one spot. Each colour distinctly bright as if they were painted in the sky one by one. Now anyone will tell you that looks can be deceiving, and it is well known you should not judge a book by the cover.
