Charles Tyrrell's Paintings on Show at West Cork Arts Centre

PS Charles's family were the original inhabitants of our house in Polranny so we are always very interested in his work and career as an artist.

The Day of the Auction

It's September 1944 and the house is about to be auctioned. It would pass through several other hands before ending up with the Polranny Pirates. Some the men in the photo are related to the Sweeney family, who had lived here up to now.

Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell

The Family Car

And a magnificent beast it is too! Artfully posed in front of it are previous residents Peter and Margaret Sweeney while their daughter Gretta sits behind the wheel.
Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell

Sewing Machine

I love this photograph of Margaret Sweeney, sitting outside with her sewing machine and the turkeys or geese behind her. Margaret was the mother of the Sweeney family who lived in the house in Polranny many years ago.
Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell

The Drive Seventy Plus Years Ago

The house and the wall are unchanged but nowadays there's far more foliage around the drive.

The demurely smiling lady is Margaret Sweeney, the matriarch of the Sweeney family that used to live here.

Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell, Margaret's grandson.

Things Have Hardly Changed

The house in Polranny, the porch, the kitchen on the right, AND that all important car. This photo was taken sixty plus years ago when the Sweeney family lived here. But essentially not that much has changed... except the car is slightly more modern.

Photo: Courtesy of Charles Tyrrell

Eileen (2)

Here is another image of previous resident Eileen Sweeney; this time shown as a proud graduate.

Photograph courtesy of Charles Tyrrell.

Eileen

A sweet photo of Eileen Sweeney, a member of the family who lived at the house for most of the first half of the 20th century.

If the house could speak, what tales it would tell...

Photo courtesy of Charles Tyrrell.

Tonragee National School

This is Tonragee National School where Peter and Margaret Sweeney taught, the couple who lived with their daughters Patty and Gretta at the Pirates' house in the early 20th century. Peter is standing at the back on the far right-hand side. But Margaret's absent. Maybe one of her girls had just been born. In her place - and standing to the left - is their aunt Bridget Flynn.

Many thanks to Charles Tyrell, Patty's son, for the use of this photo. Click to enlarge. It's well worth it!

Patty's Parents

Here are Patty's parents, Peter and Margaret Sweeney, photographed in Westport in approximately 1906.The little girl isn't Patty, it's her big sister Gretta. Were they already living at the house in Polranny? Had they just started teaching at the National School in the neighbouring village of Tonragee? Whatever the truth, it must have been a busy and exciting time for them and their young family!
Photo courtesy of Charles Tyrrell, Patty's son

A House With History

The house in Polranny is more than a hundred years old, so many people have lived here before the Pirates and their friends. This is Patty Sweeney with an armful of kittens including a princely Siamese. She lived here with her parents, Peter and Margaret, who were teachers in Tonragee National School just down the road.

Many thanks to Patty's son Charles Tyrrell for the use of this photo.