Today is the day I should have been heading off to New York for ten days to further my writing career. I’ve had to defer for various reasons and so will have to wait another while before soaking myself in a city that has long appealed to me, really since first seeing Woody Allen’s Manhattan.
I’ve been wanting to start looking through my late father’s massive collection of photographs ~ which span the years from the 1940s to the early 2000s ~ and somehow today seemed like the right day to begin that journey.
Having just looked through a few boxes, I feel as if I’ve been to the four corners of Ireland and also back and forth in both family and social history.
Father was from Co. Clare and always had a love of currachs ~ a special kind of rowing boat. John O’Donohue, the well-known Co.Clare poet referred to a currach in his beautiful poem Beannacht:
When the canvas frays
In the currach of thought
And a stain of ocean
Blackens beneath you,
May there come across the waters
A path of yellow moonlight
To bring you safely home.
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to find many photographs of currachs among Father’s photographs and the images strike me as being very far-removed from the New York that would have greeted me today.
Photo: Frank Tubridy
Photo: Frank Tubridy
Photo: Frank Tubridy
Photo: Frank Tubridy
lovely photos Jean… safe travels to New York… exciting adventures await you.. take care….Jean
Thanks Jean! I’m glad you like the photographs. I’m not sure when exactly I’ll be going to New York now, but the more I hear the more I feel there is a real treat in store.
Great photos, Jean. Thanks for sharing them. If you were here now, you’d be melting. Unbelievably hot & humid in the Big Apple today!
Hi Joanne, lovely to hear from you and delighted you like the photos. Hot and especially ‘humid’ would be a bit of a shock to the system alright or should I say a ‘major’ shock!
Great photos and I look forward to seeing even more of them. Glad you have something to distract you from the postponed NY trip 🙂
Hi SV, thanks for your kind words. Yeah, it’s lovely to have the photos to bring me off to all sorts of exciting places.
New York will miss your presence! Please let me know when you’re able to come as I would love to finally meet 🙂
Meeting up would be wonderful, thanks for suggesting it!
I hope you get to post from New York. Have never been but know I must some day. Lovely to have all those pics from your father.I especially love the first one as it`s so typically west of Ireland.
Hi RH, I’ve been at the airport in NY before, that’s all, so looking forward to exploring it.
Interesting that you like the first photo best. Father was always drawn to West of Ireland type places, even when we lived in the Pale!
These are most enjoyable! Thanks for sharing.
Colleen, many thanks for writing. Thrilled you liked the photos.
Look forward to more pics Jean – maybe there’s an illustrated book or two in them? Love the reminders of the days of sheer hard, uncomplicated work before unemployment became a lifestyle choice 🙂
Thanks Roy!
You’re a divil for lobbing in a controversial comment every so often. I don’t think there’s too many here in Ireland that see unemployment as a ‘lifestyle choice’ these days. You’ll have me out with a questionnaire wearing my sociologist’s garb any minute now.
We have socially housed people here that pick up their dole cheque on a Thursday and happily take it straight down to the pub. It’s no different in Ireland Jean. But controversy aside what I really meant to emphasise was that, times passed, people worked hard or starved. Unfortunates relied on family or charity. Hard, physical work was for everyone, even women until such time as they married.
Lovely pictures and beautiful poem. Will share w friend of mine in NZ who has a pub called The Currach. See will love xx
How interesting that your NZ friend has a pub called The Currach. There just has to be an Irish connection there!
Wish that you were coming to NY Jean! 🙂
Hi Jean, Maire here ,
The Kerry Woman who has the Currach Irish Pub on a remote island off the coast of New Zealand…the things we do to follow a man! Loved your father’s collection. Hard to believe this but recently I said to my husband that I would love those words as a mural in the pub and then you quote it…..its got to happen now! Three Dingle lads came to NZ 13 years ago and built a Currach which is outside the pub. Sadly the NZ sun has wrecked the canvas so must learn how to fix it. We are selling the oub so if you know anyone who would like to live in paradise, do tell them!
Well Hello Marie! It’s just great to hear from you and to have come full circle re the Currach Irish Pub in NZ ~ or rather in a remote island off the coast of New Zealand. Little did I think when I was writing the post based in Dad’s photos that I’d find myself at the other side world.
What a wonderful story and yes the words from John O’Donohue must be hung for all to appreciate.
I’m sure there’s lots of people who would love to live on your paradise island. Sorry to hear you are selling. May I ask if you plan to stay that side of the world?