Arse to The Wind

In the windswept, rugged beauty of the west coast of Ireland, nestled between emerald green fields, miles of lonely boglands, empty beaches and the relentless Atlantic, was the canvas of my childhood. This memoir is a nostalgic journey back to that time, a patchwork of memories from a bygone era; a step back into a time before money became mobile transactions and conversations transformed into clicks.

Luxury toys were as rare as a unicorn riding a rainbow. You would be lucky to get a push on the four-wheel base of a broken pram, and that was all that was left of it. Nonetheless, it made me laugh before it turned sideways, and you made your recovery without energy. At Christmas, Santa would come with the usual toy car or fire engine that was made in Hong Kong, of course.

It is a testament to the resilience and spirit of our own people, and our way of life in what could very well be described as the last wilderness. I was a child of the rolling 60s, when rock and roll was a thrilling novelty that punctuated our otherwise routine existence. The landscape of my formative years was punctuated with the traditions that are intrinsically woven into the fabric of rural Irish life – house visits that turned into evenings of stories and laughter, and wakes that celebrated lives lived, even as we mourned their passing.

In this memoir, I pull back the curtain on the profound impact of the church, whose presence loomed large over our lives, the fear and respect it commanded, intertwining with the simplicity and the poverty of our education which was enforced and fear-driven. Lessons were delivered in Irish, a language we barely grasped and divine moments of

revelation, a somewhat discordant symphony that played a significant role in shaping my identity. Contrasting this were the long summer holidays, filled with unbridled joy and adventures, exploring the untamed beauty that our homeland had to offer.

This memoir is not just a recounting of events but a journey in finding one’s way through the labyrinth of life, navigating through the joys and trials, the milestones and detours that come with growing up. It is a tribute to my homeland, my people, and the experiences that shaped me into the person I am today.

I invite you to walk this path with me, as we delve into the days of yore, exploring the narratives of the past to better understand the narratives of the present. As I pull these stories from the archives of my memory, I hope they resonate with you, reminding you of the shared human experience that connects us all, no matter where our journey begins.