Sin Scéal Eile

Usually at 6am, I’m getting into bed, not getting out of bed, putting on all my layers, and heading to a rowing club. I’m reluctant to say the least, especially as Galway has it’s trademark mist making my face glossy and freezing. However, I will admit, as soon as we passed the river and reached the lake, everything got eerily peaceful and I began to understand the draw of rowing.  Colin has...

I met Siobhán in St Anne’s Park, it was cold, but refreshing. She doesn’t remember what she wrote on her application form to be in this project, and she’s a bit surprised I chose to interview her. For me, it’s so important to include Siobhán as she describes herself as “ordinary” which is precisely who this project is designed for. “I feel a need to truly be "seen". I would never normally put myse...

Joyful, colourful, wonderful. Virtue is a Galway shop-keeper (but I really feel we should call her a shop-maker, as she makes a lot of things she sells). In her gorgeous shop on Dominick Street, she has a vibrant mix of Ghanian patterns, symbols and fabrics, paired with traditional Irish tweed and little dots of Gaeilge all around.  Her ethos in the store is all about legacy and heritage. Mak...

Galway has a certain type of rain that feels wetter than anywhere else in Ireland. The streaks of thick rain flow sideways across the huge windows of Barry’s painting studio, which is nestled in the Connemara landscape. Everywhere I look, inside and out, there’s warm colours of rust, green and stone grey, both in his paintings, his outfit and outside the windows, all unmistakably Connemara. ...

This project is an archive of 2026 and designed, not to serve me (the photographer) but you, the reader, the everyday people of Ireland. When Julie wrote to me and asked if she could use the project to remember her son, Zach, and record his name in print, I of course said yes.  Zach was just 14 when he died in a road traffic accident. Julie tells me that he was a very chilled, compassionate a...

I met Pat in his home in rural Galway and instantly I’m taken with his sense of style, not just in how he dresses but how he has decorated his home. It’s obvious it’s a home that appreciates art and music. He tells me what it was like being a teenager, leaving Dundalk and moving to Dublin at a time when he was too young to even get into bars.  He’s lived a full life, 69 years of travelling, v...

Aoife is lovely, calm, happy, and polite. All the things I could never be if I had been through what she has been through. She has suffered for over a decade with chronic Lyme disease, something she believes picked up while gardening in Galway.  It seems such an innocuous start to an experience that has been both devastating and life-changing for her. The chronic form of Lyme disease that exp...

Who knew, that tucked away down a very unassuming wee road, in rural Galway, there would be a house, and behind the house, a cheese factory!  Larry retired from the hustle and bustle in Dublin’s inner city, and migrated West with his wife Anne. Fascinated with the process of cheese making, Larry chipped in with a pal on some goats. He then got more goats, and more goats, until he had 64 of th...

I’m not just meeting strangers for this project, although the majority of 365 people I interview will be new to me. This week I sat down with my cousin, Paul, as he was keen to share his story with the world.  Paul is 7 years older than me so we didn’t hang out a lot when we were younger. I always thought that he was cool, his bedroom was in the attic, he had dreadlocks and played guitar. I a...

Gospel music is something that has totally passed me by, except for the odd Sister Act marathon in my childhood. Seeing a gospel choir in full swing is amazing craic. Watching the choir's director, Keara, make it come to life with her sharp movements and blinding smile is truly fascinating. She lets her personality shine through via her faith, her gospel choir and her fashion style too. She’s been...

Seamus is a breath of fresh air. He's over 6 foot, ripped, owns a kick boxing gym but absolutely radiates a beautiful energy full of positive masculinity. From his travels around the world as a “mindful rambler”, taking tantric classes with Dutch gigilos and teaching self defence classes in his local community, he has a very unique and enviable perspective on life. After meeting him (and doing som...

Meeting Paul is so inspiring. Here’s a 48 year old man who recently started a brand new hobby which has utterly changed his life.  Diagnosed with ADHD late in life, he began what he describes as a period of mourning, followed by investigation, education and eventually aerial silks. Now you’ll find him swinging from the rafters with a brand new lease of life.  Come back tomorrow for anoth...

It’s safe to say I’ve never met a man in a kilt at a jumping church before. It was 3 degrees outside when we stood amongst the graves in the jumping church (named so after the walls “jumped” three feet to exclude a tortured soul from its burial grounds) and my feet were freezing to the ground. I'm not sure how Eddie coped with his bare knees.  Eddie is a self described “field person”. He’s sp...

We drove through what at times felt like a film set and found ourselves on a beautiful (albeit muddy) patch of land just outside Baltinglass. The rain gave us some grace as we pulled into a long driveway, making sure to close the fence and not let the horses out.  We met Paul with his partner of 17 years Martina, their dog, cats and 4 horses in their cosy home (you’d never know it was a refur...

To say that Angela Dorgan is well known in the Irish music industry would be the understatement of the year. Many would say she IS the Irish music industry. She’s the driving force behind Ireland Music Week, which gives so many young Irish bands their start. She uses her abundance of passion, her smarts, her charm and her incredible knowledge and compassion to ensure that baby bands get all the re...

I got emotional talking to Geoff, not for sad reasons, but because it’s rare that I encounter someone who is so selfless, humble, proud of others, and so unbelievably grateful to his own Mother.  Geoff is two things, a poet and a principal and for the first time today he’s letting those two sides of himself come out in one interview. Geoff and his team of teachers, SNAs and support staff have...

Being a touring musician for most of his adult life, Alex Ryan has a unique perspective on the music industry. We sat in Walsh’s pub for the afternoon and reminisced about life on the road touring with Hozier and all that it offered us, the friends we made, relationships we formed and the craic that was had.  Come back tomorrow for another podcast/story/portrait. We’re interviewing and photog...

I’ve never met anyone who has worked in Antarctica before so it was such a joy to sit and chat with Ruth about her adventures there. Ruth is bubbly, hilarious and full of life. It’s no surprise that she sold her house (almost on a whim), packed everything into her van and went to work in the kitchens of McMurdo station.  By all accounts, it sounded cold, very strange, but also romantic a...

I’ve lost many a night (and day) sitting in the iconic Cobblestone pub, listening to tunes and sharing stories with friends.  I was so intrigued to chat with Tomás who grew up in the pub (and his Father, who himself has a few tales to tell) about their love of folklore and archiving.  Together they instill an amazing ethos in the pub, one of mutual respect and camaraderie between the pub...

You might think it’s weird or morbid to talk about death, it’s definitely discouraged in a lot of circles, but talking about death is something both Liza and I agree should be done more often. She’s even gone as far as hosting Death Cafés. Liza found her way into the life of a death doula and undertaker after her husband passed. With no one to truly eulogise him the way he would have wanted, Liza...

When Sam wrote to me to be included in the project, the first thing that struck me was the eloquence of their writing. They were passionate, proud and really understood my mission with this project. It was no surprise to hear that Sam is a writer and director for film and TV, a world which they have been extremely inamoured with from a young age.  What Sam loves the most about their job...

I’m buzzing from my morning of cuddles with the two of the most giggliest babies ever. Today I got to meet Sharon, a single mum of six beautiful, smart, confident children (who are an absolute credit to her). If you asked AI to imagine an “Irish Mammy”, you’d probably get a photo of a dowdy, middle aged woman in an apron, surrounded by peeled spuds or something equally as old fashioned and offensi...

I met Mo Arekat in the Fumbally Cafe where he works as a chef and instantly I realise that he is a bit of a local celebrity. Everyone has a big hello and hugs for him as we wander through the busy cafe on his day off.  He is well loved in his new community and that feeling is truly reciprocated. Mo is bursting to tell me his story, but not the one you may think of when you meet a Palestinian/...

I don’t think you’ll ever find a more passionate person than Keith when he’s talking about wrestling. In a great big barn in the middle of nowhere you’ll find The School of Irish Wrestling. It may look like a cattle shed outside, but inside you’ll find two massive wrestling rings and huge posters of all the famous Irish wrestlers who’ve gone on to the WWE (the ultimate dream job according to Keith...

Claire is young, strong and extremely knowledgeable about endometriosis, a condition that has plagued her since she was 11 years old. She has had to fight with insurance companies, advocate for herself to be taken seriously by pharmacists and doctors, and persuade so many consultants to refer her so that she could get the treatment that she needed. She sits here today telling me her story so that...