Ireland

My family's ancestry is mostly Irish, my mother's family from the centre of Ireland, around Athlone, my father's from Donegal, in the north of the Republic. I've visited several times and have also studied a small amount of the language. I've been welcomed by family there and am pleased to have learnt about my family's history, on both sides, although it is always more complex than you would ever imagine.

The landscapes of Ireland are haunting and, on the north and west coast, ferocious...