Presently I am cocooning, and well into my 70s. I have lovely memories of the Brusna River, on the Caltra Road, close to my home, in Ballina. In my childhood days, mid 1950s as children, we spent our summers playing in the River. Soon after our breakfast, we would go off with our nice clean
We were crabbing at Murrisk. Two adults, three children and one Foxford blanket. The sun was shining, the sky was cloudless, and The Reek was standing over us like an ancient grandfather in a pointed hat. This was part of our annual pilgrimage with my best friend Kay, her boy Edward and my two nephews.
On the border of East Mayo and Roscommon a little river rises in the hills. It winds past old cottages, trickles under grassy Boreens and loops around fields full of livestock. Eventually it meets the mighty River Moy and joins the Atlantic Ocean at Killala. This tiny Mayo river runs on two sides of my
On the last day of October 1923, a man was waiting by the old dock for his mate just as dawn was breaking. He had walked all the way from Blacksod Point, a distance of almost four miles, to go out into Elly Bay to lift the two herring nets they had cast the night
Ferneo Bay is a small sheltered bay on the Mullet Peninsula, created by the land of Devlane on the south side and Elly Point to the north. It has a beautiful silver strand sheltered by sand dunes all along the shore and the townland of Mullaghroe in the background. On the commonage behind the sand
There was an organic, welling silence there, standing in the sea. A quiet seemingly born from the piercing cold itself, to stretch and drift in the air and float outwards like ripples from a rock thrown into the depths. He broke the earthly silence, shaking the metal bag with a dull, rough rattle before tying
Uisce, uisce I ngach ait gan braon le n’61. Is minic muid ag clamhsan anseo in Eirinn go bhfuil iomarca baistf againn anseo- tuilte agus aibhneacha ag cur thar maoil. Tailte cludaithe le huisce sa gheimhreadh agus sa bhf6mhair nuair ata t-arbhar aib1 agus reidh le baint. Ach ni orthu siud ataim ag smaoineadh ach
I was eighteen and in the Ballinrobe area, my father was fixing a bull-dozer and I was his helper. Father and son working together but for all that I was no help to him that day, we were in a field on a blazing summer’s day and the heat made you feel lazy. There was
My childhood home was perched on the edge of the Atlantic in the village of Mullaghgloss, in Renvyle. From our front door I could see the Mayo coast, the cliffs of Achill, Clare Island and Inish Turk. The sea was a constant in our lives with all its moods. Sometimes it would be flat calm
God the Creator reached for the large box and lifted it carefully from the shelf. ‘What’s that?’ asked the apprentice. ‘Electrons. Just look at this.’ He pulled back the lid to show off the mass of tiny particles shimmering inside. The apprentice was eager to learn. ‘Electrons. What are they for?’ ‘Watch this.’ God the
The lakeshore of Lough Mask in Tourmakeady was a few fields down behind our house and the rocky shoreline with its Alder trees growing on the banks was a haven for us children seeking adventure as we roamed along it’s shores. It was all of that and more. It was freedom to play, explore and
The River Moy is my Favourite Waterway in Ireland. I have been to Lakes, Rivers, Streams and all of the Seaside Resorts around Ireland but I love the Moy best. I was born in the mid – forties in a Hillside Farm Cottage overlooking the River Moy. The Moy flowed gracefully at the bottom of