December 21st 2010. It's a good morning here in North Sligo. We have a resilient indigenous community who care for the inherited rights of our inhabitants. There is an extraordinary level of native enterprise. Our entrepreneurs claim no special consideration for the jobs they create. They do not transgress on their neighbours in pursuit of their own objectives. They understand citizenship and it's responsibilities.

A walk in the woods

The woods provide great cover as I walk. I look across to Drumcliffe Bay as I go; the high tide hugs the shore and gentle waves make reassuring noises as they caress the against the rocks. As I walk the path underneath the trees I know that many of my forebears have walked this place freely before me. This thought has greatly comforted me in times past.

Paddy Mc Gowan, my great great grandfather lived at Tobhair Ard until the landlord knocked his house in the wood. His name remains on that wood in Ordinance Survey Maps to this day. In Paddy Mcgowans wood the flagstone set at the front door of his humble abode is still to be found. He moved to Carney Village where with the help of neighbours he built himself a new home. His son Frank, my great grandfather, was born there. In turn his son John, my grandfather was born there as was my mother Kathleen.

Such a linage brings inherited associations, a sense of duty to your place and an understanding of
the timless nature of the natural environment when set against the short span of human life.