My family lived with Pop at the Mill House which was dwarfed by the mill on the gable end facing our kitchen. We had a beautiful garden, but to the side was an untamed wilderness full of wild rhubarb, wasp’s nests, and badgers, which led directly onto the river. Although we were forbidden to enter
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
Flowing beautifully and calmly through Mullingar for over 200 years, the Royal Canal is a great reminder to us of Irish innovation, engineering and good old hard work and graft. No longer a hive of commercial and business activity on the banks, the waterway is a valuable source of leisurely recreation for locals off the
Lickeen Lough is a 250-acre freshwater lake in The Burren Co. Clare. Approximately 3km from both Ennistymon and Kilfenora. Stocked with Brown Trout and home to the endangered European Eel. During the drought of 2018, previously unseen rock showed that the lake was formed 300 million years ago. I interviewed residents Fionnula and Fiachra Swann
There is a pond in Carriglea Shanballymore about 4km from my home and I was delighted when a pair of swans came to make their home there in the spring. They have been coming there for a number of years. They made a nest and the Pen which is a female swan laid 6 eggs
The summer of 1945 signalled the end of the terrible conflict that was World War II, with millions of displaced persons wandering helplessly through war- ravaged Europe in search of a home and missing relatives. In contrast, a whole new world was opening up to us with the purchase by my father Joe of a
I have had many great memories and stories from the river as I live in the beautiful town of Graignamanagh, where the river barrow flows through. I have been swimming and kayaking in the river from a very young age, thanks to my dad. My dad, sister and I started kayaking a good few years
Since my childhood I have spent my holidays in Dún Chaoin, Co. Kerry, staying in an early 70’s bungalow after my Grand Aunty May, who had built it in her dream location only a couple of years previously, sadly passed away. It is a small house but still manages to dwarf the ruins of the
Our story is of creating our own waterside for nature, in 2018 we began the task of creating a community garden in our council estate in Rathcoffey, Co Kildare. There was about 1 and a half acres of waste ground lying idle and costing the council the earth to maintain, as a resident’s association we
The minnows sparkled below the threads of wet sunlight. Too fast for me to catch. Wading through the water, so cold despite the warm June weather; water straight from the Blackstairs; cool, and clean, and pure. The straight monolithic bridge cut across the curving of the stream, and the weeds, and the trees. This, the
Once, a long time ago my friend came to my house to play and we went to the River Mourne close to where I live. We came to a meadow that had a sandy place with cobbles near the river and we sat down to eat our lunch. Suddenly I saw a grey thing on
Ever since I was a young boy my Daddy and also my Grandparents have taken me fishing. My grandad is 85 and granny is 82. They live near me and we regularly travel to lakes in Roundwood. I caught my first fish there when I was only 3. We were in a boat and I