New Guests at the House

Artist Magda and documentary film-maker Prosper recently stayed at the house in Polranny. In her journal, Magda describes her first impressions: "For us Ireland was terra incognita, so we were dying to explore it. Once we arrived at the house, we looked at the map and decided that we would first visit the seaside village of Keel on Achill Island. It's located on the southerly part of the Island, so with the sun hovering above the water just as it does in the Netherlands. As we drove to the Island, dark clouds and brief showers alternated with rays of sunshine. We passed mountain tops that were hidden by mist. Breathtakingly beautiful. Then we arrived at a tiny harbour littered with abandoned boats, fishing nets, piles of rubble and crab skeletons. A small boat appeared out of the waves and headed for the harbour. Men in wet suits got out of it. They were tidying up their gear; we didn't ask them what they'd been doing but it was a fascinating sight. And there were sheep and lambs everywhere! I wanted to make a photo of the sheep because they have such pretty black heads, but they're difficult to approach. The only way to get closer to them was in the car. Finally I managed to get a picture of a fleeing sheep!"

Photo" Magda