A Book and Its Cover

During my 3 month stay in Ireland I met some interesting people and did some fun things. One of those things was making friends at a local pub called Bolg Bui, which is Irish for “yellow belly.” Don’t ask me why, it’s an Irish thing. I made it a point to visit this pub because it’s a very fertile place to meet people. The Irish pride themselves on their ability to make conversation, so it was a good place to talk about my faith.

The owner of the pub is a wonderful lady named Tina, and she comes up with fun things to do which the pub sponsors, and one of those events is a “Mystery Tour.” The concept is fun, you meet at the pub on a certain day and everyone piles into a bus. Where does it go you ask? Only Tina and the bus driver know, it’s a mystery!

I decided to take the tour to meet new people and see some interesting sites. So I got on the bus one night and we headed out to parts unknown. I started talking to everyone on the bus and was surprised to find a very eclectic group of people of different ages and backgrounds, and as the bus winded its way down the tiny back roads of Ireland we all joked about our chances of getting to our destination because the bus driver was a little old man who was in his 80’s! We all wondered if this guy should be driving his own car, let alone a passenger bus.

However, we reached each place safely, and they were all really interesting. We went in and stayed about 30 minutes, had a pint, talked to each other and the people in the pub, and then headed for the next place.

The last pub we stopped at was my favorite because I’m a musician and there was a bunch of people playing traditional Irish music. This is something that a lot of pubs do in Ireland. They love their traditional music, and they’re fun to sing, so on certain nights people show up with their instruments and jam. There were 3 accordion players, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, a violin player, and a multipurpose musician who played percussive stuff, like the spoons.

We all had a good time, and since it was our last stop we stayed longer. After about 45 minutes I noticed our bus driver shuffle in. I remember thinking “thank God he came in, it’s freezing outside and the last thing we need is to go back to the bus for the trip home and find this little old man frozen to the steering wheel!”

The bus driver sat down at the bar and ordered a drink, and as the band finished the song they were playing something amazing happened. The violin player got up and walked over to the bus driver and handed him his violin. But it wasn’t just a hand off, the guy almost bowed to the driver as he handed the instrument to him. The guy next to me gave me an elbow and said “you’re privileged to be standing here right now.” My interest was, of course, very piqued, and I watched as this elderly gentleman raised the violin to his cheek, and suddenly the entire pub went silent. I mean totally, completely silent.

Have you ever been in a bar and had it suddenly go quiet. That happens, like, never. There are too many people in a bar and too many conversations going on for anyone to care what’s happening elsewhere in the bar, but this place came to a complete standstill.

The driver nestled the violin under his chin, raised the bow, and launched into the most amazing Irish song I've ever heard. This guy’s fingers flew over the neck of the violin faster than anything I've ever seen, and it was precise; every note perfectly played.

Everyone in the pub stood motionless while the song filled the place, and when it was over the pub erupted into raucous cheers and loud applause. The driver handed back the violin and continued to work on his drink.

The band went back to playing and the din of conversations swelled into the air again. I was amazed at the reverence shown to our bus driver, and it wasn't the only time. Several times throughout the night the violin was handed off and our driver played again, and each time the entire pub didn't make a sound. It was awe inspiring how this guy commanded the attention of everyone in the pub.

The next day I contacted Tina and asked who the driver was, and it turns out he is a legendary traditional Irish music composer named John Dwyer. Who, you say? Well take a look here for a brief bio on John at the Irish Tune Composers website. It only takes a minute to read it, so I’ll wait until you get back…

So yeah, John Dwyer is a really huge star in the Irish music scene. You can see him on YouTube at the 2012 Traditional Irish Festival here if you care to watch him play, it’s worth a few minutes if you like interesting music. He’s from a famous music family, he’s been composer of the year, he’s still touring… and he drove our bus!?

I asked Tina why this legendary musician was driving us around Ireland, and she said “because he loves me.” Wow, that’s sort of like having Van Cliburn drive the limo taking you to prom because he’s friends with your dad.

I learned a great lesson that night and what it means to be humble. John Dwyer didn't care about his fame, he just knew a friend needed someone to drive a busload of people around for a night, so he stepped up. He showed me that the cover of a book does not tell the real story inside, and I’ll endeavor to be worthy of this experience.

"God, teach me to be more like John Dwyer, and to never forget what true humbleness should look like."