In order to entice me to the Kingdom and leave my comfortable city existance, the Kerry farmer brought me all over the county to show me its highlights. Look, this one is beautiful, Kilmore strand, only five minutes from the farm, Ballyheigue, twenty minutes away, Ballybunion ten minutes and so on. All spectacularly beautiful beaches that literally take my breath away each time I see them and as it turns out a good way to charm a Cork woman over the border.

St Patrick’s Day has put me thinking. We’re surrounded by all this beauty but not so good at seeing it. Maybe it’s that we’re taking it all for granted or immune to the grandeur but it’s time we started taking a good look at this amazing country and the good people it holds. Do you not find that we’re good at focusing on the misery and adversity at times? The ‘where it’s all going wrong?’ and the ‘who is doing the wrong?’ But not so good to see the real positive that is going on around us. Allow me to illustrate.

I once taught French to a lovely young girl in Kerry Head. Her kind mommy showed me to their sitting room for the lesson to commence and so opened the curtains for light, only to reveal the most beautiful seascape, I would imagine, that anyone has ever seen. Kerry Head in North Kerry, remember it. So dumbstruck, unable to find words (which is a tad awkward when you’re teaching a language) the Bean an Tí, announced ‘Tis grand, will you have tea?’ Tis grand? Were they the words of a woman who was shy, modest or someone who had stopped seeing the beauty?

It seems to me that we’re fast to say ‘tis grand’ without ever really owning it. We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and I programmed to cringe when typing it. Beautiful country? 'Tis grand.

There are pockets of this country that are rife with energy, ideas, creativity, innovation. 'Tis grand.

Our farmers are out there day and night working hard to make their businesses better, seeing opportunities to make the most of their land, at times diversifying, innovating. 'Tis grand.

We’re coming through adverse times economically and after a period of suriving, there are signs of us starting to thrive. 'Tis grand.

We reinvent ourselves during recurring tough times with hard work and ingenuity but as it turns out, 'tis just grand.

I know a part of what we portray internationally, is coyness and humility that sells post cards but I think it’s time we started to see ourselves in a more positive light, opening the curtains as it were, standing back and saying ‘wow.’ It’s easy to say when there’s the promise of parades, the sneaky pint or the sound of Irish music on the street, saying aloud that we’re great, us Irish and the whole world is saying it too. How about we move beyond St Patrick’s Day and see ourselves, head upright, sparkle in our eyes, passion in our bellies ready, once again, to thrive.

Next time you walk on your farm, take a good look around. I guarantee you it’s beautiful. I, for one, am proud to raise my children here. Hey, it’s no utopia, let’s not fool ourselves but it is a beautiful, beautiful country that has an unquenchable spirit and the stamina to keep getting up in the ring and fighting on. H’up ya boy ya!

Happy St Patrick’s Day.