I was born a townie at Pound/Connolly Street, Sligo, in a three storey street house with a cold tap inside and a flush toilet outside. When I was about ten my two sisters and I spent a week with my dad’s parents on their farm at Rossmore, Riverstown. It was Eastertime. We were sent out
I first heard of Coomloughra when I set out to climb the “Coomloughra Horseshoe.” It’s one of the classic hiking and scrambling ridge routes in Ireland and takes in several mountain tops – Scregmore, Beenkeeragh, Carrantoohill and Caher. These have an average height of about 1,000 metres. Nestled several hundred meters below ,there are three
When I heard of this competition, I was reading a book called ‘Letter to My Younger Self’ where inspiring people shared moments that shaped their lives and on looking back, might offer advice to their sixteen- year-old selves. While this is not a letter, I found my thoughts wandering to days when I was maybe
Inchaguille Island is a wooded place of three hundred and sixty acres. Once a place of holy ancient people, more recently owned by the Guinness Family, Lord and Lady Ardilaun. They owned a large boat and the island had a small quay, at that time. The Guinness family and their guests travelled to the island
Quiet early morning finds me where the sweetest waters flow. I am where I always wanted to be, in Crosshaven, a place much loved by my parents, Donal and Imelda. Back in the days when I was a boy we holidayed up in Fennell’s Bay and watched the great ships sail out to sea. We
At the back of the house where I grew up there was a wet ditch, draining some good agricultural land. As I child I would go there most days with my net and bucket. Down through the shoulder high wheat, the dog ahead of me, jumping occasionally to find his bearings. I can still feel
I was cycling into the Phoenix Park. Where the M50 meets the Grand Canal the water is usually dark. Sometimes you can see pondweed wafting gently there. On the M50 bridge there was a small group of teenagers in wetsuits. A low fence that I hadn’t noticed before protected them from the steep drop. There
On the first day of our school holidays, we made sure our bikes were ready for the long Summer days ahead of them. Washed, tyres pumped, chain oiled, the dynamo working – in case you were out late, the carrier on the back tested in case someone needed a lift. Day two would begin the
Rising slowly that morning, the sun watched as a single boat chugged sleepily inwards towards the safety of the harbour walls. Its hull was filled with several overflowing fish boxes. Although the world was on lockdown, the lobsters went about their business totally oblivious. That included being caught in the pots, having been lured by
When my life’s day draws to a close I pray that scenes such as this, Familiar, beloved, timeless, Will play on the screen of my mind – The sun setting behind the west pier, A calm descending on the cove, The last bathers reluctantly leaving the water, People lingering in the warm evening air, Their
This story is set in the picturesque Muckross National Park in Killarney, Co. Kerry. Every summer as far back as I can remember, we as a family would annually travel down to Kerry and stay in an old farmhouse in Brewsterfield on the outskirts of Killarney for a consecutive month, we were graced by having
I smell lavender, I smell mint, I smell fresh ferns with a Christmas tree tint. I hear waterfalls, I hear birds, I hear trees swishing, whispering summer words. I see strawberry flowers, I see ants, I see red dragonflies As they dance. I feel rough nettles, I feel rocks, I feel geraniums, soft like my