Telling the story of Ireland as it was long ago, one painting at a time.

About the Images of Ireland Collection (Post 1 of 15).

I painted a collection of artworks showing scenes of Ireland as I remember growing up there many years ago. It took about two years to complete the collection, fourteen paintings in all, working on it part time during the period from 2008 — 2010. This is the story of how it came into being, and how in many ways, it eventually took on a life of its own.

Here’s how it all started…

Growing up in Ireland gave me experiences I know any young child would be happy to have. Living in Dublin and traveling around the Irish Countryside with my family as my Da’s work took us from one place to the next, I learned to love the Emerald Isle, rainy days and all.

By the time I was twelve years old, we had lived as a family of seven in Dublin, Ballyliffen, Butler’s Bridge, Granard, and Strabane-Lifford. In most of these small towns, my siblings and I went to the local schools and played afterwards with the neighbourhood kids. I remember walking to school each morning with my new friends and having foot races to see who could make it home first after the final school bell rang. We played football and street games until it was time for dinner or time to do the homework.

I can remember walking over the Strabane-Lifford bridge to go see a film or get fish and chips with the whole family. And Fair Day on Saturdays in Granard, when all of…