The Great Hunger of 1845 to 1852

Virtually overnight potato blight turned Ireland into a country of mass starvation, emigration and abandoned homes and fields. To this day, the Irish landscape is pitted with  famine-era ruins and undulating potato fields.
© www.anniewrightphotography.com

Titanic

A monument to the Titanic disaster in the tiny Irish
village of Addergoole. Fourteen of the passengers were
from this area and only three of them survived.
© www.anniewrightphotography.com

Errew Abbey, Lough Conn

Errew Abbey was founded in the 7th century. Legend has it that a sacred
relic from the Abbey lay at the bottom of Lough Conn for centuries
before it floated to the surface. © www.anniewrightphotography.com
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Then and Now

Dutch photographer Con Mönnich has returned to the house in Polranny after 42 long years!
His photo on the left is of our neighbour Mrs. Masterson and her family back in the day. The one on the right is of Mrs. M today, a proud mother, grandmother and great grandmother, and the absolute matriarch of the clan!
Photos: Con Mönnich

The Michael Davitt Bridge...

... in nearby Achill Sound is apparently based on the ribcage of a basking
shark, a leviathan that sometimes visits these parts.

Photo: © www.anniewrightphotography.com

The Upper Lake at Glendalough...

...looking like a Chinese landscape painting.

Photo: © www.anniewrightphotography.com

Delicate as a Fra Angelico Fresco

Part of a ruined hunting lodge in North Mayo.

Photo: © www.anniewrightphotography.com

Beauty...

... in this enchanted land!

Photo: © www.anniewrightphotography.com

The Queen of Trees...

...towering over the forest surrounding Moore Hall in the Wild West of Ireland.

Photo: © www.anniewrightphotography.com

Ancient Gravestone

Photo: Annie

You Never Know What You May Find on an Irish Beach!

Photo: ©Annie Wright Photography

Historic Document

The house as it was when it was first discovered by the Pirates back in 1973!
It hasn't really changed that much...
Photo: Polranny Pirates Archive

OWLs Meet Irish President!

Last week we mentioned that the Polranny Pirates had hosted a dinner
for the ground-breaking OWLs, the Older Wiser Lesbians. This week,
they've flown the coop and high-tailed it to Aras an Uchtarain, the
official residence of the Irish president, where they met President
Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina. By the look of it, it was great craic!

Well Done, Charlie!

(The invitation can be enlarged by clicking it)

Charlie Tyrrell, whose mother and grandparents lived at the house in Polranny, is having a major exhibition of his works on canvas and aluminium. The show will be held at the Solstice Arts Centre in Navan, County Meath, from 24 March to 6 May. It then moves to the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork where it can be seen between 13 May and 2 July.

Bog Oak

Thousands of years ago this used to be a mighty tree, now it's slowly fossilising on Fahy Beach, about thirty minutes drive from the house in Polranny.

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

Treasure Trove

Neolithic treasure discovered by Pirate Annie on the ancient coast of Clew Bay.

Photo: Profoundly Superficial

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.