My Father's House (Oct 2017)
Recently, after an absence of some years, I visited the house my father grew up in, in Cliffoney, Co. Sligo. I spent many happy summer holidays here as a child. My father and all but one of his six siblings are now dead, and my cousin inherited the house, but lives elsewhere - so for the most part the house is empty, but it's still full of ghostly reminders of the past. On visiting I was struck by how much religious imagery there was in the house - partly because the eldest in the family, my uncle PJ, was a priest, but also because it's a very traditional West of Ireland Catholic household. So the title of this photo-story, My Father's House, has a very deliberate double-meaning.
Straw Hats
Myself (on the left) and a cousin outside the house when we were children.
The Old House
The house today - still a fine old building. I think it dates back to the 1870s. My father and his six siblings were all brought up here. The eldest, my uncle PJ, inherited the house but was a priest based in Los Angeles, so was only home occasionally, so we got to stay here most summer holidays.
