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Double-take in Dublin

Another one of those little AA miracles happened to me during a recent visit to Ireland. It was too much of a coincidence to ignore.

As I was settling into my room at The Burlington, a nice Dublin hotel, I noticed that there were two pictures on the wall, one above the other. They each portrayed the same scene, which I assumed to be a street scene somewhere in Dublin. But I wasted little time wondering about the two pictures. I had other things to do.

En route to Scotland for business reasons, I was taking a little side trip to the land of my ancestors. However, the couple I had expected to socialize with that evening had other plans. My destiny was to be alone in Ireland.

By the time evening arrived I was hungry, angry (at myself for not doing better planning), lonely, and very tired. I decided to HALT, so I got some rest, read from the twenty-four-hour book, asked God for help, meditated, and had a delicious roast beef sandwich in The Burlington's lobby. I didn't want to leave Ireland without attending an AA meeting, so I went back to my room to call AA's General Service Office in Dublin.

What happened? The telephone answering machine's recorded message indicated that the office was temporarily unattended. I left my message and heaved a deep sigh.

"What's going on here?" I asked God. "Why am I running into so many obstacles? Why me?" His answer came immediately: "Why not you?"

I considered the possibility that I might not get to a meeting during my brief stay in Ireland. Oh, well, I thought, if that's the way it's going to be, I guess I'll just have to accept what I cannot change. Then I threw myself on the bed to try to rest away some more of my jet lag. I got up after a while, figuring I'd take a little stroll and perhaps come back later and watch Irish TV and go to bed early.

This is where the coincidence unfolds. As my hand touched the doorknob, the phone rang. It was "Sean" at central service. He cordially welcomed me to Ireland, told me about meetings within walking distance of the hotel, then suddenly changed his mind.

"Sure and I think you'd enjoy the First Dublin Group," he said. "It dates back to 1946. It was the first European AA group. They'll be celebrating AA's fiftieth anniversary this weekend."

I got a cab to 87 Merrion Square and saw some people going downstairs to a basement entrance. "Is this AA?"

"Sure and 'tis." I was in the right place.

They were very well dressed and friendly. I was a little early, and as the "visiting American" I was an instant celebrity.

"Dr. Kate" chaired the meeting, and told how she had been removed from medical practice due to her disease, and had eventually found a new vocation. She established a drop-in coffee shop above the Dublin Central Mission to provide a place for alcoholics and drug addicts to get a cup of coffee, socialize, and attend meetings.

She called on "the visitor from America," and I told about a set of strange "coincidences" on a previous business trip that had resulted in my attending an AA meeting in Cairo, and I told about Sean's call. I stressed the miraculous nature of AA.

Later I talked with Dr. Kate, and she invited me to her coffee shop the following Monday, and also told me to come to St. Patrick's Hospital on Monday evening for a special meeting to commemorate AA's fiftieth anniversary.

We had coffee and snacks after the meetings, where I met more people. One member offered me a ride to my hotel. He also encouraged me to come to St. Patrick's on Monday evening. Back at The Burlington I felt renewed. I was no longer hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. I was part of my extended family again.

Now comes the unusual coincidence. Back in my room I did a doubletake when I saw the two pictures of the same street scene. I looked very closely at them. "Oh, my God! I can't believe this, but it's true."

Above the artist's signature were the words "Merrion Square, Dublin." The scene? The two pictures were renderings of 87 Merrion Square, the location of the AA meeting I had just attended! Why were they in that particular hotel? Why did Sean at central service return my call as I was about to leave the room? Why did he change his mind about which meeting I should attend? Why were there two pictures of that particular location in my hotel room? I used to enjoy Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" TV show, but I never thought I'd become a part of it through AA.

During a whirlwind tour of Eire on Saturday and Sunday, in which I put a compulsive 600 miles on a rented car, and narrowly escaped death several times as I often forgot to drive on the "other side" of the road, I experienced the unutterable beauty of Ireland and a brief return to my Castlecove and Cahirdaniel, Kerry ancestral roots. Then it was back to Dublin.

On Monday evening I went by cab to St. Patrick's Hospital. It was June 10, and although I was not destined to go to Montreal in July for the Big Meeting, I was content to be at the special session at St. Patrick's. Over the door of the original wing, I was fascinated by the coat of arms and the motto in Latin; festina lente. It means "make haste slowly." I have added it to my inner list of slogans.

After the special ceremony, I was invited by an AA member out to the suburbs where they, too, were celebrating AA's fiftieth anniversary.

There I was exposed to Irish homegrown standup comics, folk singing, music, nonalcoholic beverages, and good fellowship. My friend drove me back to my hotel.

My AA experience was the highlight of my trip to Ireland, and another bit of proof that AA is a miraculous gift from God. What a phenomenal transition I had made from hungry, angry, lonely, and tired to welcomed, accepted, satisfied, serene, relaxed, and loved.

T. O.
Dedham, Massachusetts