Celtic roots, home and family in London

In Skibbereen in 2010 with my Mother (right) and Aunt Kathleen

Tragumna, County Cork Ireland

My main area of work is in the landscape which I draw, responding to the atmosphere and my feelings around a place. It could be the weather, something that has happened in that place, my relationship to that place or sometimes an intuition. Often these drawings become paintings which evolve over a period of time taking in more memory as they develop. This is the case wherever I draw but there are some places, I return to again and again.

Celtic roots

I have for a long time had a fascination with and been drawn to the spirituality and culture of the Celtic nations, ie rooted in the traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. The honouring of nature, ancestors, and community and the stories and legends ingrained in these spaces where the line between the earth and spirit world is blurred. Most especially for me are Ireland and Cornwall, both of which I find a constant source of inspiration. Southern Ireland and Cornwall are for me places of magic where my imagination is immediately triggered, under an ever-changing sky, battered by a wild sea. A feeling of being on the edge of the world gazing into a mysterious deep blue.

I was born in East London and like many other Londoners, I am descended from immigrants, in my case from County Cork, Southern Ireland and a small town called Skibbereen. My great great grandmother, Ellen (born 1842) immigrated from Skibbereen to London as a young woman, having survived the famine and the disease and devastation caused by it as a small child. The town is immortalised in a folk song, ‘Dear Old Skibbereen’ wherein a father tells his son about the Irish famine and being evicted from their home.

Godrevy Lighthouse, Cornwall, UK

I have visited Skibbereen three times so far, once with my mother, aunt and sister in 2010, and it felt like a home coming for us all as we felt a connection to both the place and to our ancestors, who would have known it so well. My painting Tragumna (above) painted in 2024, is a memory of that time and visiting Tragumna Beach nearby. We had visited with the aim of finding out more about Ellen but unfortunately were unable to find out very much. I am currently working on a project about Ellen and the trauma for her as a small child to witness such hardship and death and eventually to have to leave her home. Having little information about Ellen herself, my research draws on the anecdotal evidence available from the Skibbereen Heritage Centre, who have been very helpful.

https://skibbheritage.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)