Directions to meet Tomas, an 80-year-old farmer, former policeman, and a melodeon player: “Go down the main street in town, past the hotel, then go 5 to 8 kilometers, I don’t remember how far until you reach a road called Tulla, yes, Tulla. Then be sure to count at the 3rd road (none of them are named, so you have to count), at the 3rd road to the right, turn and go up a ways and you’ll see two houses right next to each other. One is the old farmhouse and the other is a renovated barn where they live also. No need to call, he’s there or you’ll pass him on the road on his bicycle.”

Amazingly I found Tomas. I introduced myself and asked if he had a little time to talk with me. I had read about Tomas in a book about vanishing Irish. He had grown up on an estate nearby where his father and his grandfather had been tenants of the owner of the manor. He has farmed most of his life, except for a short 5 year stint in Dublin as a policeman. He played a song on his melodeon and played the Bodhran drum for me. His wife asked if I would like tea, it was 10 in the morning, and she brought in tea pot with milk pitcher, cups, and 3 saucers of cookies, bread lathered with butter, and small corn muffins. We talked for more than 2 hours. He was an absolute delight and a pleasure to meet.