I took this shot 2 years ago, its of An Fear Marbh, which is part of the Blasket Islands.
In the past the whole group of Islands was referred to as Ferriter's Islands. From the end of the 13th Century the Ferriter family leased the Islands from the Earls of Desmond, and from Sir Richard Boyle after the dispossession of the Desmond Geraldines at the end of the 16th Century. This shot is taken from the shore at Clogher Beach, on the road from Ballyferriter to Dunquin, a very dangerous tide to swim in because of the strong under-currents.
Helen Theresa Ferriter was born in 1870 to immigrant parents from the Dingle Peninsula area of Ireland. She was the tenth child of Nicholas and Mary Ann (Sullivan) Ferriter. Her oldest brother, Michael James Ferriter, was 17 and working in the coal mines along with his father. Her youngest sibling was John Joseph Ferriter, age 5. Four of the nine children born before her had not survived childhood, with one dying as an infant and three dying as toddlers. Barclay Village no longer exists. At one time, it was a very busy community that sprouted up in 1850 around the coal mines and the rail... Read More