THE BIG READ: Eight reasons to spend your holidays in Tullamore

Every year I come to Tullamore on holiday, but this year I did something I've never done before - work experience in the Tullamore Tribune.
I'm a 17 year-old student who lives in a town in the south of France called Castres, famous for its rugby team “Castres Olympique”, which you might have heard of.
But my dad is from Tullamore so we come here every year to see our family. I've been to Tullamore twice a year for 17 years, summer and Christmas, so if you subtract Covid, I calculated that I've been here more than 30 times, which is a lot.
So here is what I like and have learned about coming here.
Family
It is easy to stay in touch these days with phones and social media but nothing compares to being physically here and sitting in the kitchen with my granny, aunties, uncles and cousins, all having fun and slagging each other with the same old jokes.
Friendliness
I love how everyone here is friendly and chatty, whether it is in the shops, in cafes or just on the streets.
It is a bit of a stereotypical image that people have of Ireland but it's true; everyone here is always talkative and up for a nice chat.
A few days ago, I was at the till in a shop and the cashier started chatting with us for more than 10 minutes, by the end of the nice conversation, I even knew the name of her dog and where she went on holidays eight years ago.
Language
In some parts of Ireland, it is really complicated to understand certain accents, but in Tullamore, I find it pretty easy, most people don't talk too fast. I actually enjoy hearing people in Tullamore speak because I am so used to it and I feel a certain sense of belonging.
But I have to say, my aunt had to explain to me what it meant in the shops when you say thank you and people answer : Nohhabodder!
The town park
Tullamore has a really pleasant town park. When I was younger, I loved going there to play. I have great memories in it.
Now, I'm too big for all of that but I still like going there with my younger cousins. Sometimes, I might even have a sneaky go at the swings when nobody is looking, like the good old days.
Sliabh Blooms
Another nice aspect of Tullamore are the nice walks in the Sliabh Blooms. You can go for a stroll into the forests, the villages and along the nice rivers.
It is even more enjoyable for me and my parents coming from France because, even in the summer, it's always really green and fresh. We are used to the grass and trees being yellow and dried out during summer because of the heat in France, which can go up to 40 degrees. So that is why I like the Sliabh Blooms, even though it's hard for me to spell and I had to look it up (twice).
Great location
Tullamore is right in the middle of Ireland which means it is a great base to visit other places. You'd always hear people say it's a practical place to stay because it is more or less an hour away from Dublin and from Galway. We always do loads of nice day trips to different places around Ireland when we are here.
GAA
I play soccer in France so I am pretty into sports but I always love to see how big hurling and Gaelic football are here. These sports don't exist, or are not as popular in France, or in any other countries I believe, so I am always impressed by the admiration Irish people have for them.
I've been to Croke Park and O'Connor Park to see GAA games, and even though I don't know what's going on most of the time, I just enjoy to see the kids running on the pitch at half time with their hurls.
99s
France is famous for its diversity of nice food like cheese or nice typical pastries or as we call them, “viennoiseries”, but one thing we surely don't have is 99s. I always make sure to have at least one 99 on my trips to Ireland, which means I had more than 30 in my life (if you only count one 99 for every trip). It is a nice treat to have in the summer, even though we normally end up eating it in the car because of the rain and the cold.

Some people might wonder if I have any bad things to say about Tullamore and I imagine you can guess the first thing that comes to my mind is the rain. It's true that it rains a lot here but as I said, where we live can get really hot so it is nice to come to a place where no sunscreen is needed.