Pat Green (1926-2016) – Damhros, Letterard, Co. Galway

Pat Green (1926-2016) – Damhros, Letterard, Co. Galway

‘Farming never paid around here,’ says Pat Green, as the evening sun spreads over the barren rocks beneath his Connemara home. ‘Just look at the colour of that land! It is not great by any means. There are more rocks than soil. Even if you had a thousand acres, you...
Sonaí Choilm Learaí Ó Conghaile

Sonaí Choilm Learaí Ó Conghaile

‘When the old people were here, there was always someone to look after everything. There were hens and the goose and the gander, cattle and sheep, and the land was always clear. But when my generation went to London working, we forgot our own village, our own house,...
John William Seoighe (1919-2015) – The Oarsman of Connemara

John William Seoighe (1919-2015) – The Oarsman of Connemara

See here for more Vanishing Ireland tales.   There is something about John William Seoighe that instantly connects him to the ancient world, to a time when the grizzle cheeked fishermen of Ireland’s Atlantic coast synchronised their oars with those of the great...
Annie Conneely (1919-2017) – Housemaid, Cloonisle, County Galway

Annie Conneely (1919-2017) – Housemaid, Cloonisle, County Galway

The story of an Irish-speaking Connemara lady who was raised alongside Cloonisle Bay, near Roundstone. Annie recalled how her wily father had to start anew when his currach-rowing business collapsed with the arrival of the railway in 1895. Become a member of Turtle’s...