My Place
I will not tell you where it is.
I may show you, if I feel a tug,
a connection, if I can tell
you are one of us
who find it ours.
You will not find it otherwise.
Words: Elaine McKeough. Image: JesseJames
A man I know once met a man from Baile an Chaisleán in Tigh Ned’s, who told him that whenever he looked out of his kitchen window of an evening after being in the pub he would see a herd of elephants charging at him down the raveen. The man I know saw it with his own eyes.
Image: JesseJames. Words: JesseJames.
A woman I know told me a man from Galway she knows told her that the cargo of the Plassey, which was shipwrecked on Inis Oírr in the 1960’s, included ceramic toilet bowls. Many of these were spirited away when the Plassey was grounded on Trá Caorach. A woman I know told me a man from Galway she knows told her that some of the ceramic toilet bowls were used in the dwellings on the island, while others were sold in Galway. We imagine Duchampian porcelain installation pieces might still be found unclaimed in the caves and crevices of the limestone.
The rhythm is jumpin, jump session.
Image: JesseJames. Words: Slim Slam.
JesseJames in conversation with Art Historian Aodhán Rilke. Transcript of the Q&A to follow.
I live in an average Irish townland. It just happens to be in the middle of Galway Bay.
Image: Man of Aran 2017. Words: Man of Aran 2017.
Two of them were left out all winter, but the other two seem to be sound.
Words: Overheard on An Trá. Image: Cormac Coyne
The artist JesseJames used to cycle out into the villages of Inis Oírr to practise art.
Rinne scoláirí Choláiste Ghobnait staidéar ar bhallaí cloiche Inis Oírr. Chaitheamar trathnóna ag bailliú íomhanna, ag déanamh sceitseanna agus ag tógáil griangrafanna. Ansin phioc na scoláirí na híomhanna a thaitin leo agus rinne siad tarraingtí sa rang ealaíne. Bhain siad úsáid as meain meascaithe, idir peann luaidhe, dúch, uiscedhath agus peann luaidhe daite. Bhí muid ag breathnú ar structúr agus ar phatrún na mballaí, agus na tonnta álainne a bhíonn le feiceáil iontu.
The students of Coláiste Ghobnait made studies of the stone walls of Inis Oírr. We spent an afternoon collecting images through sketching and taking photographs. The students chose the images they liked best to develop into finished pieces in the art class. They used a variety of materials…..pencil, ink , watercolour and coloured pencil. We were focusing on the structure and pattern of the walls and the beautiful tonal qualities they hold.
Féile na gCloch, the festival of stones, unfurls virtually in 2021 on the 2nd October. Engage with the event whenever suits you via the Galway Heritage website. Féile na gCloch, festival of stones, is an annual event on Inis Oírr. It brings together practitioners in stone walling, stone carving and letter carving from around the world to celebrate the heritage of the stones of the Aran Islands. In 2017, a new workshop was introduced, to reflect on the role that drawing and sketching plays in each of these traditions.
Inisheer Waltz was composed by Tommy Walsh.
The Zibaldone Project 