OPINION: Limerick's Barnagh Greenway Hub a lesson in hospitality

Are we the Ireland of a thousand welcomes anymore? Is there the same grá for a stranger? In this modern world with its modern values is there a place for common courtesy and genuine hospitality?
Of course welcoming the stranger should be embedded deep in our DNA. In ancient Ireland hospitality was mandated by law. The Brehon Laws which served Ireland well for more than one thousand years made sure that hospitality was ingrained in the Irish psyche for countless generations.
Under Brehon Law, all households were obliged to provide some measure of oigidecht (hospitality) to travelers, even if they were unknown. This hospitality included food, drink, a bed, and entertainment.
To make sure the poorer sections of society were not over-burdened by weary travelers, local chieftains across the island set up highly-staffed bruideans (public houses).
A typical bruidean sat at a major crossroad. It had doors on all four sides with each being manned around the clock to insure that no one would pass by without receiving an invitation to enter, rest, and be refreshed. Torches lit the location at night so it could not be missed. There were explicit stipulations about the provisions that should be on hand at all times. Three uncooked red meats had to be available for cooking and three cooked meats or meat stews had to be ready to be served. A bruidean could have as many as 100 beds and 100 servants.
The Brehon Laws were different than our current system. Of course they weren’t perfect but there was a lot to said for it in many aspects. One of the crazier permissions was the proviso that a layman could drink six pints of beer with his dinner while a monk could only drink three, in order to return to his prayers in a semi-lucid state.
There were also nine rules regarding the romantic union of men and women ranging all the way from a marriage of equals to a one-night-stand.
However, it’s the hospitality one which popped into my thoughts recently on a trip to Limerick. In these fast-paced days we often forget that we’re all relatively similar; all striving for happiness and peace; all looking for a little kindness along the journey from cradle to grave.
A group of friends and I were in Limerick and the more outdoorsy among us decided we would hire bikes and experience the local Greenway. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon when we all arrived at Barnagh, a thriving, well-serviced hub which was throbbing with happy people of all ages.
At the bright and breezy Locomotion Bike Rental shop we were blessed to encounter Aoife, a hugely welcoming and helpful woman who told us the handiest cycle would take us to Abbeyfeale and back, a journey of 26km in total. She said we would easily accomplish the task long before she closed the doors at 5.30pm.
Of course, that’s not how it worked out. The more athletic in our party took off like Stephen Roche, Sean Kelly and the finest men ever to complete the Tour de France. They streaked south towards Abbeyfeale, while the rest of us rolled through the gorgeous countryside, embracing everything on offer.
We rolled into Abbeyfeale in good time, expecting to see our colleagues but there wasn’t a sight of them. A quick phone call revealed they hadn’t taken much heed of the Abbeyfeale stop and had continued towards Listowel. They explained they were conscious of Aoife’s closing time and would easily be back in Barnagh to return the bikes long before 5.30pm
To cut a long story short – that didn’t occur. The less athletic of us were back at Aoife not long after 5.30pm, but the others were still a long way from base. We expected a stern face and much checking of the watch. How wrong we were!
Aoife put us at ease and her colleague, Olive who runs the beautiful Platform 22 Cafe in the same building arrived and opened her doors to us. She and her staff were cleaning up after a busy day, but they took the time to put us at ease, before arriving with teas, coffees and buns, all free of charge.
We were gobsmacked. Their kindness was almost overwhelming. We ended up being 90 minutes late returning all our bikes but at that stage we had been treated like honoured guests, rather than tardy ruffians.
It was a lesson in hospitality, a lesson in life and one which will be remembered for a long time to come. Barnagh Greenway Hub in Limerick certainly lives up to the ancient Irish tradition of hospitality.