It’s a Long Way to Tipperary
“It’s a long way to Tipperary,
It’s a long way to go.
It’s a long way to Tipperary…
To the sweetest girl I know.
Goodbye Picadilly…
Fairwell, Leicester Square,
It’s a long, long way to Tipperary…
But my heart’s right there.”
– Jack Judge & Harry Williams
It’s a long way to Tipperary…
Yes it is – but I have managed to find my way there, not once but twice in the past year. And I suspect I’ll be heading back again, sooner rather than later, because I now have in the works not one but two writing projects that are connected to Tipperary!
If you’ve been reading my weekly blog for awhile, you may recall I wrote a blog last year (May 2025) entitled, Finding Our Way Home to Soul, in which I shared the reason for my original interest in Tipperary: my dad used to sing me the song when I was a kid.
Here is a (slightly modified) excerpt from that blog:
Once we find the courage and wisdom to consciously begin our journey to creating a more joyful, meaningful and soul-inspired life, other forces seem to kick in and help illuminate our path.
But we do have to keep paying attention to the gentle and subtle – and sometimes not so gentle nor subtle – guidance that is, I suspect, continuously being offered to us.
Which brings me to my first writing project that’s connected to Tipperary: a book manuscript in the works that is tentatively entitled, The Sweetest Girl I Know; Finding Spiritual Meaning & Guidance Beneath the Surface of Our Lives.
The sweetest girl I know is my soul. When I quiet my mind and slow down long enough to listen to her gentle guidance, I usually know what step to take next.
“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”
– Rumi
So that’s writing project I was working on for the few days I was in Tipperary 🙂
Here are some photos of Tipperary town & the beautiful surrounding area:
Which brings me to the second writing project connected to Tipperary…
As for the second writing project o’ mine that’s connected to Tipperary, it’s a screenplay in the works entitled, Thirty-Two. When the idea for this script first came to me many years ago, Tipperary didn’t have anything to do with the story.
But while visiting Tipperary the first time in May 2025, I came across the ruins of Moor Abbey (near Tipperary) – and had a doozie of a creative insight there that ended up playing a significant role in the Thirty-Two script!
For just as “when we start to walk on the way, the way appears,” so, too, when we continue on the way, the next steps always reveal themselves…sometimes fast and sometimes slow. We just have to find the courage to take that next step. Then the next.
I think sometimes it can feel like we are a really long way from home…a long way from our true selves…our soul – especially in a world that is so driven by the ego. But just like the Tipperary song says, even though it might seem like a long way to return home to our soul, it’s not. It’s always right here, in our hearts. Right where we are.
“Spiritual peace and happiness
It’s not out there…
It’s within your chest.”
– Lenzspot
After Tipperary, I hopped in my wee rental car and headed way down south to the tiny village of Allihies in County Cork. Although I only had a couple of days there, I was able to fully immerse myself in working on the Thirty-Two screenplay, which is connected to Allihies. When you’re that close to the spiritual heart of your subject matter, you can cover a lot of ground in two days!
More on that beautiful script in a future blog 🙂
Related blogs by Maryanne
Are You Soul Searching in the Right Place?
Maryanne Pope is the author of “A Widow’s Awakening.” She also writes screenplays, playscripts & blogs. Maryanne is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Co-Founder of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. To receive her blog, “Weekly Words of Wisdom,” please subscribe here. And be sure to visit our PinkGazelleCards Etsy shop.