Somehow, it’s already August. It feels like just yesterday that we arrived at the Pittsburgh Airport and departed for Dublin, and it’s a wild yet tender feeling. We’ve been to so many different historical landmarks in such a short period of time, and I couldn’t appreciate this program more. Though the only thing that I don’t appreciate is the weather. One of the more notorious features of Ireland’s culture, the unpredictability of it, plays a large factor in how tourist attractions and historical landmarks operate.
Though, our landmark that we recently visited was quite the opposite. It was the perfect day: slightly windy with plenty of sun and hardly any clouds visible. At Sliabh Liag Cliffs, we trekked up to the highest seaside cliffs that Ireland had to offer. The view from uptop was, to say the least, breathtaking in every way imaginable. Being able to see beyond the horizon of the cliff, the many sheep along the way, and the beautiful greenery that surrounded your every step.
Yet, the weather wasn’t always as perfect as in Sliabh Liag. The natural attractions here were extremely susceptible to weather, and would be closed down if the rain was harsh enough. The rocks that you trek up are clustered enough as is, and adding wetness to it? Absolutely not. Safety is always the number one priority when it comes to hiking and sightseeing, and moving beyond those boundaries is something that truly is not worth it. Though, I will say, it is very adrenaline-inducing to look beyond the cliffs and down at the bottom.
As a business owner or a visitor, being constantly at the mercy of weather here in Ireland is a constant. There will always be unfortunate situations of natural occurences, yet there’s a form of beauty in the unknown. The sun is only beautiful because the moon passes, or something like that. I believe that unpredictability should be accounted for, and only in the extremes should it prevent one from seeing the world. Even in Carrigart, this is applicable! Factoring in the unpredictable weather is a surefire way to take into account other aspects of a PESTEL analysis.