If you’ve walked the Old Head of Kinsale loop this past year, you will have passed by the McCarthy family farm and Old Head Milk shop. If you’re a daily milk drinker then undoubtedly you will also by now be a regular customer. The Atlantic ocean offers a spectacular backdrop to the cows contentedly chewing the cud on the green pastures a stone’s throw from the shop – you won’t get much closer to the ‘from farm to fork’ (or in this case ‘from farm to bottle’) experience than this. Happy cows lead to happy customers and the rich creaminess of the pasteurised, non-homogenised milk from the McCarthy herd and the consistent footfall since the coastal farm shop opened last July is testament to this writes Mary O’Brien.

The 39-acre dairy farm on the Old Head has been in the family for generations – inherited from the Dempsey’s – and today is run by Gerard McCarthy and his son Stephen. Originally operating as a dry stock and tillage farm, Gerard and his wife Anne transitioned into dairy in the mid-1990s when new entrant schemes made it viable, starting modestly with just 14 cows. “Times were very different back then,” notes Gerard, reflecting on a time before milk quotas were abolished in 2015. That regulatory change allowed the herd to expand significantly and today the McCarthy’s milk around eighty cows.

For years, the natural rhythm of a busy dairy farm meant early mornings and long days, with both Gerard and Stephen also working off farm – Gerard as a general builder and Stephen as a carpenter.

“We were burning the candle at both ends,” says Stephen, who was eager to spend more time with his young family.  The solution came in the form of a farm shop, an idea sparked by similar successful ventures in the UK and Northern Ireland.

After researching equipment and visiting other farm milk shops, the family took the plunge in 2021 once approval was granted from the Department of Agriculture. Stephen and Gerard designed the layout of the shop and started building, making a sizeable investment into vending machines and a top-of-the-range pasteurisation system. The result is a sleek, user-friendly operation that bridges traditional farming and modern convenience.

With Stephen’s wife, Louise, the creative force behind the initiative, the farm shop, which opened at the end of July last year, has transformed their operation.

Behind the scenes, raw milk travels via pipeline from the milking parlour’s bulk tank across the yard to a dedicated pasteurisation room – an immaculate space with resin floors and stainless steel fixtures. There, the milk is heated to 76-78 degrees Celsius, cooled through regeneration, and chilled to 4-5 degrees before storage. Every batch undergoes rigorous testing: antibiotic checks pre-pasteurisation and phosphatase tests post-pasteurisation to ensure harmful bacteria are eliminated. “It’s spotless,” says Stephen of the room, where data loggers track temperatures for Department of Agriculture compliance.

Front of house, customers find a self-service experience designed with sustainability at its core. Glass bottles – €3.50 for a litre, €2.50 for a half-litre – are purchased once and returned for refills, eliminating single-use plastic. The milk itself, pasteurised but non-homogenised – €2 for a litre and €1 for a half-litre – retains its natural cream line. “If you leave it settling for a couple of hours, you’ll see a layer of cream sitting on top,” explains Stephen. “Give it a shake and you’ve got that fuller consistency.” The difference from standard shop-bought milk is immediately apparent – parents frequently report that children who refuse milk at home will happily drink the McCarthys’ creamy offering, often enhanced with flavourings available via an honesty box.

The shop also serves freshly ground coffee and hot chocolate – milky and delicious due to the creamy milk – and has outdoor seating, which is particularly popular with beach-goers and walkers exploring the Old Head loop. “We get a lot of walkers,” says Stephen, noting that even on quiet winter mornings, half a dozen cars might fill the car park on a nice day. The family atmosphere extends to the business itself: daughters Amelia (6) and Shóna (4) have their own jobs, emptying bins and stacking bottles, while Louise manages the decor and daily cleaning.

The operation remains deliberately local. Unlike supplying the co-operative, which they still do with the bulk of their milk, the shop requires customers to come to the source. “We kind of want to stay around here,” says Stephen, explaining that delivery would add unsustainable complexity.

Instead, they focus on the experience: fresh milk drawn from cows grazing with ocean views, served in a spotless facility where the connection between land, animal, and product is tangible.

As the McCarthys look ahead, possibilities include school tours and expanded community engagement, though for now, the business remains focused on quality and sustainability. With the cows just metres from the vending machines, Old Head Milk offers a genuine taste of place, bottled fresh by the family who raised it.

My wife sometimes has trouble remembering the colour of the car I am testing. But no trouble last week as my test car, the Leap B10, came in Purple.

Colour is always important when buying a new car, especially for first-time buyers who may have had a favourite colour in their mind for years.

According to Google, the colour purple is associated with a variety of meanings, including wisdom, creativity, royalty, power, ambition and luxury. It can also represent magic, extravagance, peace, pride, independence and wealth. Do you fit into any of those categories?

Leap is the latest Chinese brand to come to Ireland. It’s a company that was only founded in 2015 and didn’t sell its first car until 2019. Yet in six years it has already sold over one million cars worldwide.

The B10 is Leap’s third model to be introduced to Ireland, following on the T03 city car and C10 SUV. The B10 is a mid-sized SUV that is designed to be budget-friendly while still providing modern technology and a huge amount of interior space for five well-built passengers.

Leap say they expect their main competitors in the Irish market for their B10 will be the BYD Atto 2 and Kia’s Elroq, but it’s larger in all dimensions than both of those cars.

Later in the year there will be a Hybrid version of the B10 and two more electric EV models, so by the end of 2026 Leap will have six cars on sale in Ireland.

Externally the car looks very solid. Inside you get a minimalistic look. The dash is dominated by a 14.6-inch display which works well. There are no old-style buttons on the dash. As mentioned earlier the interior is really spacious with plenty of leg and head room.

The boot is a decent size, officially 525 litres and you also get a Frunk at the front, which has 25 litres of space. And like their European counterparts, the Chinese don’t supply spare wheels either.

Prices start at €32,984 and the range in the small 56.2kWh battery is approx. 360km, while the larger 67.1kWh battery which I drove, should give you close to 430km with a full charge. It’s a fine spacious car with a good range and has a very competitive price. 

Leapmotor now have seven dealers in Ireland: Bright Airside, Swords, Dublin, Bright, Navan Road, Dublin, Dan Seaman Motors, Forge Hill, Cork, Fitzpatrick’s Garage, Naas, Greenhall Motors, Buttevant, Cork, Joe Norris Motors, Navan and Kennys, Tuam Road, Galway.

Apart from the Dawn Purple version I drove, other colours available are: Night Blue, Metallic Black, Galaxy Silver, Light White and Tundra Grey. 

Most new cars open when you approach with the fob in your pocket. However, Leap cars are opened by moving the fob card over part of the driver’s wing mirror. Don’t be caught out if you ask for a test drive and cannot figure how to get into the car. You might also have to ask where is the small button to open the boot.

James Brooks, who is the Opel M.D in Ireland, is also overseeing the Leap segment in Gowans and he says that Leap will benefit from the reputation and experience of their extensive dealer network. James is encouraging Irish motorists to ‘Take the Leap’ and take a test drive in one of their new cars.

We spoke back in February about the significant changes to several SEAI grant schemes. As of February 3, 2026, heat pump grants have increased to a maximum of €12,500. This total now includes a new €4,000 Renewable Heat Bonus (essentially a boiler scrappage scheme) and a €2,000 Central Heating Upgrade grant, alongside existing supports. Crucially, this level of funding is now available through Better Energy Homes individual grants – which previously capped out at €6,500 – as well as the One Stop Shop, (OSS) route. Grants for attic and cavity wall insulation have also seen an uplift.

At the start of March, the highly-anticipated Windows and Doors grant launched under the individual measure scheme, previously only available under the OSS grant route. This rollout included higher supports for households receiving certain Social Protection payments and new attic insulation grants specifically for first-time buyers. Additionally, homeowners who previously received a grant for cavity or internal wall insulation may now qualify for a second wall insulation grant.

From what we’ve seen through our own business, the window and door grant is causing the most confusion – which isn’t surprising. The rules and application process are more complex than most other measures, and the full details aren’t always clear on the SEAI website. This month, I want to dive deeper into the intricate details of these new grants.

First, let’s cover the straightforward requirements:

Property Age: Your house must have been built and occupied before 2011.

Performance: New windows and doors must meet a U-value of 1.4 or better (a U-value measures heat loss; the lower the number, the better the insulation).

Contractor: You must use an SEAI-registered contractor.

Timeline: You must apply online via the SEAI Better Energy Homes portal before you start the work.

Payment: You have the work completed, pay the contractor, have a BER assessment completed afterward and then claim the grant back.

The complexity lies in the ‘fabric-first’ criteria specific to windows and doors. To qualify, your home must meet one of the following:

Heat Loss Indicator (HLI): You must achieve an HLI of 2.3 or lower after the windows/doors are fitted. This is the same metric used to determine heat pump readiness.

Advisory Report: Alternatively, your BER Advisory Report must show your walls and roof as being rated ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’.

Confirming eligibility is tricky and depends on the age of your home and your current BER status.

If you have a BER (Post-July 2021): You likely have the new-format Advisory Report. You can check this immediately to see your current HLI and wall/roof ratings.

If you have a BER (Pre-July 2021): These older reports don’t display this level of detail. The full data would need to be requested from the SEAI for review, which usually requires professional assistance.

If you don’t have a BER: You will likely need a pre-BER assessment to check eligibility and determine if upgrades to your attic or walls are required first.

Note on 2005-2010 Homes: Houses in this age bracket often meet the ‘Good’ wall and roof definitions by default due to the building regulations of that time.

In all cases, a final BER is required to claim the grant. If you are relying on an existing BER to check compliance, it makes sense to use the same assessor for the final BER to ensure consistency. If starting from scratch, most assessors, including ourselves, now offer a combined ‘pre-and-post’ BER service for these grants.

Finally, keep in mind that this is a ‘whole house’ upgrade. You cannot get the grant to replace just a few windows while leaving poor-performing ones behind. If you’ve upgraded some windows recently (within the last 10 years), they likely already meet the 1.4 U-value and can be retained, provided you can supply a Declaration of Performance from the original supplier.

As always, if you would like to get in touch about anything in this article or your own retrofit project, feel free to reach out: ruairi@retrofurb.ie.

Gardening By John Hosford

As April unfolds, the days are lengthening, and with the clocks having shifted forward to Summer Time at the end of March, we now enjoy those extra evening hours. This extended daylight offers a wonderful opportunity to catch up on various gardening tasks. There’s plenty to do this month, from seed sowing both indoors and outdoors to weeding, planting, and pruning.

Cut back evergreen shrubs

Start by cutting back evergreen shrubs. It’s an ideal time to prune Mediterranean shrubs such as lavender and rosemary; make sure to cut them back to healthy buds. Avoid trimming into old, lifeless wood, as this may not reshoot. Plants like Fatsia, Hebe, and Escallonia can benefit from a light trim, while Ceanothus, Choisya, Daphne, Mahonia, Rhododendrons, Camellias, Azaleas, and Sarcococca should be pruned after flowering, ideally in May or June.

Deadhead daffodils 

Deadheading daffodils and other spring bulbs is essential after the flowers have faded. This practice diverts energy back into the bulbs, helping them bulk up for an even better display next year. If you have water lilies that have outgrown their space, now is the time to divide them. Carefully remove the plant and use a sharp knife to cut the root ball into sections, ensuring each has at least one shoot and some roots. Replant these sections into pond baskets filled with aquatic compost.

Feed trees, shrubs and perennials

Feeding trees, shrubs, and perennials is also crucial this month. Specialised feeds are available for lime-hating plants like Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Camellias, Skimmias, Sarcococca, and Kalmia, which will thrive with an application. Roses should also receive their monthly feed with a special rose fertiliser, followed by another application in May and June. When applying fertiliser, spread it out at a distance proportional to the height of the tree or bush, as roots typically expand to a distance equal to the plant’s height.

Vegetable garden

In the vegetable garden, sow peas in a sunny, sheltered position, planting them in a flat-bottomed trench about 5cm deep and 15cm wide, spacing them 7.5 cm apart in a single row or in two rows 30 cm apart. Remember to support them with robust wire netting. For potatoes, plant out second early and maincrop varieties, ensuring second earlies are set 30cm apart in rows 30cm apart and maincrops 37 cm apart. Earthing up first earlies protects the stems from cold weather and encourages more tubers to form. This process can be repeated as later varieties emerge above ground. Protect young crops with a double layer of extra-strength frost protection fleece, cloches, or cold frames.

You can also sow carrots and cabbages in prepared beds, covering them with fleece or insect-proof mesh to protect against carrot fly and cabbage white butterflies, whose larvae can devastate brassicas like cabbages, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Additionally, sow courgettes, vegetable marrows, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, melons, sweet corn, runner beans, and both bush and climbing French beans in 10 cm pots in a heated, frost-free area indoors. You can plant one seed per pot or two and select the strongest seedling once they emerge. These can be moved outdoors at the end of May or early June after hardening off.

Tomato plants can be planted in their fruiting quarters this month, whether in greenhouse soil, grow-bags, or large pots. Trailing varieties are perfect for hanging baskets or window boxes but must be kept frost-free.

Fruit garden

In the fruit garden, mulch raspberry canes with organic matter such as well-composted garden compost or stable manure. If those aren’t available, the excellent Gee-up from Blarney, Co. Cork, is a great substitute and widely available in garden outlets throughout Cork County. Indoors, geraniums, pelargoniums, fuchsias, and streptocarpus should now start receiving regular weekly liquid feeds. A seaweed-based fertiliser works well, and these plants should be fed weekly until early October to encourage healthy growth and blooming.

Citrus trees should begin receiving special citrus feed. Once the frost has passed at the end of May, they can be moved outdoors, provided they have drainage holes. Houseplants will require more frequent watering, and it’s best to stand them in a sink while watering, allowing them to drain without standing in water for more than 30 minutes.

April flowers

April also brings a delightful array of flowering plants. Bergenia showcases white, pink, and red flowers on glossy, leathery leaves and serves as excellent ground cover for early colour. Brunnera, with its green and variegated varieties, offers dainty blue flowers. The profuse blooms of crab apples are followed by attractive autumn fruit, while dogs tooth violets present low, clump-forming bulbs for shade. Dicentra spectabilis, or bleeding heart, boasts tall, elegant foliage.

Exochorda produces profuse white flowers, while Fritillaria persica captivates with purple spires of bloom, best planted as bulbs in autumn. Flowering cherries offer a stunning display of pink and white flowers, and some varieties feature attractive polished bark. Pulmonaria provides early colour in low-growing shades of blue, red, and white. Many rhododendron varieties will be in bloom this month, thriving in lime-free, ericaceous compost and benefiting from annual feed with a specific Rhododendron/Azalea fertiliser. Tulips will also be in flower, presenting a variety of colours, so remember to protect them from slugs.

For bedding and patio plants, containers, window boxes, and hanging baskets can now be planted and established in a greenhouse. Use fresh compost and include a slow-release fertiliser. Ensure window boxes have drainage outlets before planting.

Lastly, keep your lawn in check by mowing regularly, starting with the blades at their highest setting. Gradually lower the setting by the end of the month. Feed established lawns, aerate to rake out thatch, and give your lawn a spring feed. If you’re establishing new lawns, prepare the ground properly.

April is a vibrant month in the garden, full of opportunities to nurture and enjoy your plants. 

Happy gardening!

Canine Corner by Liz Mahony

Since my youth, I’ve been an avid people and animal watcher totally fascinated by interactions between the human and animal species. And it has never lost its appeal for me. So, over the beautiful weekend we experienced a fortnight ago, I took Saffron, my Boxer, into Dunmanway, to sit outside my favourite cafe to watch the world go by in the town square. She particularly loves this pastime, believing that anyone who appears on the pavement is specifically interested in saying hello to her

Not only that, the girls in the cafe spoil her, bringing out a bowl of water especially for her and giving her cuddles. She’s a gentle dog and affectionately leans into them, appreciating all the attention. There are only two small tables with four chairs outside the building, set pretty close together. While we were sitting there, a lady, having placed her order at the counter inside, arrived out and began hovering around the second table, making it obvious that Saffron was bothering her. I might add that Saffron was, in fact, sitting on my left side, and furthest from this person.

Yes, she was looking hopeful to make her acquaintance but, other than that, her manners were impeccable!

During the ensuing conversation, it transpired that this woman had had dogs in her childhood and had experienced no problems with them or any others. However, a recent encounter with her brother’s dog had frightened her because he had allowed him to bark at her in an intimidating manner, which made her feel very uneasy. Despite her discomfort, instead of dealing with the dog’s bad behaviour, her brother suggested that all she had to do was say ‘hello’ to the dog and stroke him which would appease him!

I fully understand that many of us are less than sympathetic to our siblings when they appear to overreact to a given situation but in this instance I was able to sympathise with her plight. She realised that her own fear was exacerbating the circumstances but there was much more to this.

Firstly, her brother was allowing his dog to behave rudely to visitors instead of teaching a more polite way to ‘meet and greet’ them. Suggesting that his sister approach the dog stroke him in order to calm him down was quite a feat. Not only that, by condoning this action, both his sister and the dog’s owner were simply reinforcing this bad behaviour, and over time, this appeasement rather than education, could lead to an escalation of it.

Let’s put this scenario into human terms. Would it be in order for a child to rudely confront a visitor and intimidate him/her? I think not! And would we, as parents, allow it? Again, I think not. Then why do we allow a dog to do it? It’s unjust to both dog and visitor.

The lady in question couldn’t believe that Saffron wasn’t barking at her. But then, she hadn’t really looked at her in a meaningful way. She just imagined that because her brother’s dog was ill-mannered and confrontational, ergo, all dogs are like that. When you translate that view into general terms, it means that, as dog owners, we are starting off at a disadvantage. People seem prepared to believe the worst in others – and, more importantly, their dogs. It puts a huge responsibility on us, as owners, to prove them wrong, not for our own sakes but for the good of our precious canines.

The more people decide that dogs are all ill-mannered, likely to bite, noisy or confrontational, the more open spaces, towns, and so on, are going to become ‘no-go’ areas for us and our companions. And the more that happens, the harder it will be to re-open those spaces to us. And if that occurs, it will be even harder to convince people, other than dog owners, that our canine companions are actually welcome in our urban and country life.

Where can we start to remedy this situation? Firstly, I think we have to prove to others that our dogs can behave politely in all situations. That means training them at home and socialising them outside the family milieu – just like I was doing with Saffron on that Saturday. It means teaching our dogs to behave on every occasion and rewarding them for it.

Secondly, we really have to address this business of picking up after our dogs in towns and areas where there will be human contact. Apart from the hygienic point of view, it doesn’t look so good seeing dog excrement left lying on pavements and, as already said, it doesn’t help our case for allowing us to socialise our dogs in any and all areas. In doing so, we might help others to see our well-behaved dogs as pleasant individuals rather than an unruly collective!

John Coughlan reviews ‘The Greatest Show on Earth: The Inside Story of the Legendary 1970 World Cup’ by Andrew Downie.

The cover of ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ by Andrew Downie shows Pelé with a raised fist, held in the arms of his teammate Jairzinho. It is one of the most iconic images in football, taken after Pelé scored the first of Brazil’s four goals against Italy in the final of the 1970 World Cup. 

That World Cup, hosted by Mexico, was the first to be televised in colour. It was also the first to feature red and yellow cards and to permit up to two substitutions which previously were only permitted in the case of injury. 

The Brazil team that won the final used none, with the same eleven players starting and finishing the 90 minutes.  

The 1970s with Pelé, Cruyff, and Beckenbauer, to name a few of the luminaries of the time, may well have been the heyday of football. I was not around for that World Cup in 1970 (I was born in the 80s), but it seems that for many who were, that competition was the very apogee of the sport. 

Andrew Downie is one such person. 

His book is an unusual one in many ways. It describes every single game in the 1970 World Cup. It was a tournament of memorable matches and moments, but some games – take for example the nil all between hosts Mexico and the USSR in the first game of the tournament – don’t necessarily warrant much description at all. 

The author adds descriptions here and there, helping the reader understand the context of each game. But for the most part, the action is described by the participants – players, coaches, hangers on. The accounts can’t have been given directly to the author, rather it seems he extracted them from other accounts – books, magazines, or whatever. 

The book is a real challenge to something I have come to realise when reading books about football – the football itself is rarely the most interesting part. But this book is all about the football, with little of the off-field colour that usually brings football books to life. 

But it does make for interesting reading, especially when the accounts of players from opposing teams contrast and contradict each other. In Brazil’s intense and dirty encounter with Uruguay in the semi-final, Pelé not only got away with an elbow on Uruguayan defender Dagoberto Fontes, he got a freekick himself for doing it. 

Downie quotes Fontes as saying Pelé caught him in the eye with a deliberate and very violent act. For his part, Pelé says he did it in self-defence, a kind of Minority Report situation, anticipating that he was about to be fouled, he lashed out, landing an elbow on Fontes for intending to foul The King. It seems the ref agreed with Pelé.

If you were to read this book in isolation, it might be a little on the dry side, but with Youtube allowing you to watch the matches being described by the participants, their accounts really do come alive. 

The television producers behind the broadcast of that World Cup seemed to have been so excited by the arrival of colour that they made the surprising choice of really – and I mean really – enhancing the colour. This is not the colour of the ordinary world, there is some pre-Instagram filter that really makes it pop. 

Brazil look beautiful in their luminous canary yellow. The pitches are greener than any grass I have ever walked on. Even England look swish in their all-white kit, a la Real Madrid. 

I found this book interesting because it gave me the opportunity to look at matches and moves, I wouldn’t have otherwise. I had seen Carlos Alberto’s goal in the final many times, but I hadn’t seen Tostao’s assist for Clodoaldo goal in the semis. It’s magic. I had seen Gordon Banks famous save from Pelé, but I hadn’t seen Felix, the Brazilian keeper, pull off an almost equally impressive save from a Franny Lee header in the same game. 

If you are interested in a deep dive into the most lauded of all the World Cups, the book is worthwhile, just make sure you have your phone to hand so you can watch the action in all its technicolour glory. 

John Coughlan co-hosts the Dynamo Football Bookclub, available wherever you get your pods.

With Easter upon us it is perhaps timely to dwell on a painting, which not only resonates with the season, but also articulates the horror that continues to unfold in the Middle East and Ukraine. This is Marc Chagall’s ‘Golgotha’ of 1912, perhaps the most luminous, prismatic painting of the crucifixion in art history. It differs from all others in its non-literal transformation of the biblical scene: in place of an adult Christ is a blue child, ‘crucified’ on the arc of an emerald green sky. It is a deeply mysterious vision, one that speaks more, perhaps, of resurrection, rebirth and renewal, than death. And yet it also invites a darker interpretation, one more prescient to our times: that of the child of the Middle East, the child of Ukraine, crucified by war.

Chagall, a Russian Jew, was not one to be confined by conventions, whether they were pictorial, religious or otherwise. As a Jew, images were largely proscribed, and symbolic Christian images, unthinkable. In painting the crucifixion, the young artist from Vitebsk (Belarus) charted a course that broke completely with Jewish cultural norms. When, later in life, he was invited by the newly formed state of Israel to decorate the interior of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament), it came with a caveat: there was to be no Christian imagery, a condition Chagall quietly ignored. It wasn’t that he was pro-Christian, it was the fact that the figure of Christ was a part of his personal metaphoric language, a visual lexicon of images which sought to transcend politics and religion, in its depiction of love, suffering, beauty and eternity.

There is no doubt that his ‘Golgotha’ of 1912 is all four of these things. Chagall had a mysterious ability to evoke the eternal in everything he touched. The arc of the child’s open mouth is echoed by the large circle inscribed in the sky behind him, and by the prismatic arcs in the luminous red ground below. The line rhymes and echo shapes, employed throughout, enable everything to visually resound; nothing is static, everything is alive. In employing a programme of prismatic arcs and intersecting spheres, Chagall achieved a magical unity, at once terrifying in its imagery and beautiful in its manifestation. The result is an image which echoes forever in the mind. 

In 2005, I wrote several poems which dreamt themselves, in part, out of Chagall’s painting. One of these was called ‘Blinded Lethe’ (Lethe was a river of the Greek underworld, which invited oblivion): “I am breathless with discovery / And wounded by the glare / Of the gored and shrapnelled child / Bronze fists of anger immeasurable / A wing of leaden death / You make me transparent  / With your pain / Now I understand Christ / Whose limbs flared and shone / Like mirrors / Like glass / Which shattered and fell / In a rain of transcending passion / Upon the fields / Of blinded Lethe / Who, feeling glass soft as snow / Looked up in astonishment / At the son of man.”

The ‘child’ referenced in this poem occurs periodically in my work, and could be thought of as an archetype for the ‘wounded child.’ The poem itself is driven by an incandescent (and impotent) rage at the power-hungry architects of war, with the ‘wounded child’ being their ever-constant victim. The most recent atrocity – the bombing of a school in Iran – resonates Chagall’s ‘Golgotha’ one hundred times over. By saying this I do not mean to diminish such a heart-numbing loss of so many children to a neat line in an article, but to indicate that art is a quivering limb of life, that it is called to address the most urgent questions of our existence.

That is what archetypes are for, and his employment of them is partly why Chagall’s work is so enduring. His mysterious transformation of the archetype in ‘Golgotha,’ its resounding play of arcs and spheres, its deep, prismatic colour, is why I return to it again and again, every Easter; not as a window into a religious rite, but as a dark, pulsing emblem of suffering, as a reminder of art’s purpose, of its empathic power.

Chagall himself said of this painting, in a conversation with Franz Meyer: “Strictly speaking, there was only a blue child in the air. The Cross was of less interest to me.” The vision he had – palpable, non-verbal, mysterious – was everything. That is the truly creative space: the crucible in which spiritual treasures are born.

This month Natalie Webb is showing us how to make Easter chicks.

“These cute chicks popping out of an egg would be great fun as an Easter weekend project!”

Materials: 

•  Yellow and orange card for the chick, and another colour of your choice for the egg.

•  Scissors

•  Glue

•  Markers

•  Lollipop Stick

Draw two egg shapes on your card approx 4” long and cut these out.

Decorate one of your egg shapes in a design of your choice, then draw a zig zag line about a third down and cut along this so that it looks like a broken eggshell.

Cut two little bits of sticky tape and roll them so that you make double-sided sticky tape; attach these on the back of your decorated egg shape – one each side near the bottom – then stick this to the undecorated egg shape.

Cut out a simple shape for a chick from your yellow card – this has to be smaller than your egg.

Draw circles for eyes and cheeks on your chick and cut out a small triangle of orange card for the beak.

Tape your stick on to the back of your chick so that it looks like a lollipop.

Stick the top part of the decorated egg on to your chick’s head.

Now slide the chick in to your egg, from the top down, and hopefully the egg will close and the chick will be snug inside…then when you push the stick up pops your chick!

Happy Easter…enjoy your chocolate : )

They will be releasing their second album this April, in the middle of the month: ‘Evelyn and Dec’. It’s not (yet) a household name but could become one. When their first album, ‘Make for Joy’, was released on Leap Day in 2024, it was named Album of the Week at RTÉ Radio 1. “Their voices are the most idyllic combination,” wrote TradFest (Dublin) last January when they were featured at the festival. 

‘Dec’ is short for a name that will ring a bell for quite a few people: Declan Sinnott. An acclaimed guitarist who worked with Christy Moore for well over 30 years, from the early 1980s until lockdown. He played acoustic, electric and Spanish guitars, violin and provided vocals on Moore’s iconic ‘Ride On’ album (1984) and produced four-and-a-half of his albums. 

He also worked with Mary Black for 13 years, from 1982 onwards, both as a guitarist and as her producer. Both of these working relationships have come to an end but not in a dramatic way at all, he says during the West Cork People interview. “They were very long collaborations. With Mary Black, I played all the gigs, was her producer, suggested a lot of the songs, and came up with the idea of using only Irish songwriters. I suppose I determined the direction to a large extent. With Christy Moore, although here, too, I was playing all the gigs. I didn’t have as much influence. Christie is very much his own man and I would be trying to steer him towards things that I thought might be good for him to do. However, mostly he would just do whatever he wanted to and I’d go along with it.”

Sinnott (born in Wexford, now resident in Bandon) was one of the original members of Horslips, otherwise known as “the Founding Fathers of Celtic Rock” according to Irish Music Daily. The blog also reveals that three of the core members, including Eamon Carr and Barry Devlin, arrived at the idea of forming a band, in 1970, after they had posed as a ‘fake band’ for an advert (for Harp Lager). They then invited Declan Sinnott and spent two years practising and performing before turning professional. Ironically, he left Horslips soon afterwards when it again appeared in an advert (for Mirinda orange juice), which annoyed him. Nine years later, he was asked by two other luminaries of the Irish music scene, Christy Moore and Dónal Lunny, to join what became the Celtic Rock band Moving Hearts before earning further ‘stripes’ in Irish musical history, as he started to work with Mary Black. During the period he was her producer, guitarist and musical director she went from strength to strength in her career. Two platinum-selling solo albums, plenty of plaudits, sell-out tours, international success (in Europe, the US, Japan). He also collaborated with her sister Frances Black, a prominent singer herself and, since 2016, a proactive ‘seanadóir’.

 The list of people that Declan has formed musical partnerships with over the years (he’s now 75) is long and impressive. As to the main ones, apart from the aforementioned singers, there’s John (Spillane), Niamh (Murphy), Hank (Wedel), Victoria (Keating), Sinead (Lohan), Jessie (Whitehead), Owen (O’Brien). 

And now there is Evelyn (Kallansee). Born on Curaçao, an island and former Spanish and Dutch colony off the coast of Venezuela, she grew up in a midsize town in North Holland. Evelyn sang in large musical and theatre productions such as Les Misérables and Evita, was a backing vocalist for well-known Dutch and international singers, acted in TV-series, and fronted Tristan, an acid jazz band that became popular in Japan and the UK.  

So how did she end up in Ireland?

“My in-laws would always go here on walking holidays and brought back beautiful photographs. After about 15 years of them trekking all over Ireland, my husband and I decided to check it out, went to Kerry and really fell in love with the place. And in 2011 we bought a house on the Beara Peninsula. At that time I stated, on a whim, that we’d move to Ireland in 2020. A nice round number and I would turn 50 in that year so it became our goal. And then we arrived two days before lockdown. That changed everything. Before coming to Ireland, I thought: I’ve had my career and done so many things, it’s okay, I’ll just start singing in pubs. Of course, they all closed down. And then I met Declan. He was such a joy to work with.”

Sinnott: “I was recording with another musician called Hank Wedel. He wanted harmonies on two tracks. When he discovered that Evelyn was in the country, he asked her to come and sing. When I heard her, a light bulb went on in my head and I thought, that’s very interesting. Not just the sound of her voice. Equally, her efficiency and professionalism.”

Evelyn: “I also work as a breath-work coach and do meditation for a Dutch company, the ‘I AM’ Academy. They had commissioned me to write a song for them but I’d just arrived in Ireland I had no idea who to do it with. When I met Declan I knew I had to try it with him.” The song, ‘Love Light’, became one of the 11 songs on Make for Joy, available on Bandcamp. Their second CD, Wait Up, will be launched and presented in April (see below for details). 

A lot of their songs seem to come about organically or should that be intuitively? 

Evelyn: “There is no fixed formula.”

Declan: “For the song called Wait Up, I put down a drum groove. Then Evelyn went to the microphone as I picked up an electric guitar. We just improvised and what we created added up to a well-rounded song. It was the first time we worked like that.”

Their music is very comfortable and reassuring. What stands out are the strong melody lines, the harmonies, Evelyn’s voice. And there is no doubt that whatever string and other sounds Declan produces, they are world class. A balm for the nervous system.

www.evelynanddec.com

Concerts:

April 24, St. John’s Theatre, Listowel

April 25, St. Patrick’s Church, Kenmare

April 26, Sarah Walker Gallery, Castletownbere

I thought it might be helpful to reflect on my experience of working with these new groups and how we can apply our practice to daily life in everyday ways, by ‘catching’ ourselves in the moments that make up our lives. Over eight wonderful weekly sessions together we practiced mindfulness meditation and explored our thoughts, feelings, emotions and sensory experiences. We reflected honestly and shared our experiences openly. We felt our feelings, laughed, cried and discovered our common humanity, realising that we were all much more similar than different. We practiced some mindful eating and mindful movement. We learned that our minds are busy, but by practicing meditation, they will gradually begin to settle.  

Alongside our growing awareness of ourselves and others, we practiced gratitude, self-compassion and loving kindness for ourselves and all living beings. We discovered that, even though taking our time and moving slowly, we still covered a lot of ground. By examining our habits in terms of which were nourishing or depleting us, we all committed to paying more attention to how we were spending our time. I was struck, and very often moved, by everyday examples that people shared of what they had been noticing between one week and the next. Often, on the face of it, little things, but I see them as ‘little big things’, or even huge things, because, once brought into awareness, they invite potential change, growth, softening.

Some of the benefits that participants shared were so rich and impactful. Examples include, stopping to have breakfast quietly, sitting eating meals slowly and tasting the food, driving slower, improved sleep, enjoying time on holidays better, noticing that we have a choice if we ‘catch’ ourselves in the moment. This ‘catching the moment’ can work in two ways, catching ourselves about to react to a situation, in our usual, habitual way or catching a special moment in our lives and really savouring that moment, as if ‘banking’ it, making a deposit in our long-term memory for our future.  

One example of a habit noticed that perhaps we can all identify with, was of feeling annoyance, even intolerance towards, slow drivers or slow-moving vehicles. Habitually, our response might be to get too close to the offending vehicle, to feel a build-up of impatience, frustration, anger as we wait to overtake. But bringing mindfulness to the situation and noticing or catching the moment of annoyance as it arises can bring an awareness of choice. Hang on, we have a choice here. We can either get highly stressed which takes a toll on our wellbeing or we can simply take our time and wait behind the lorry or tractor until we can find a safe place to pass, then breathe, feel our hands on the wheel and overtake without hardly any stress at all.

Conversely, a striking example of a participant catching themselves in a ‘good’ moment, was someone who was about to go sea swimming off a rock but was finding it impossible to get in.  Because of the tide, she would have to wait or go to a different beach. Instead of rushing off to another spot, she had the realisation in her own mind that, hang on, “This is a moment in my life”.  So, with this awareness, she chose to stay on that rock until the tide changed and had her swim.

Reassured, affirmed and encouraged by this generous group sharing, I was repeatedly reminded that mindfulness meditation really matters, it has meaning and long-lasting impact on people’s everyday lives. Mindfulness meditation can be this grounding, steadying, joyful, lifeforce, providing us with skills we can all learn to help us on our life’s journey.  Skills that, once the foundation has been laid, require consistent practice to grow and strengthen, both formally, through meditation, and informally, through how we live our everyday lives. It is pure privilege to be a conduit of these practical yet life-changing skills and practices, and something that I will be forever grateful for. The simple, yet profound, quote from writer Annie Dillard seems fitting here. “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Mindfulness in April

Drop-in mindfulness hour at CECAS, Myross Wood, Leap on Tuesday mornings 10-11am, April 14, and 2h. €12.  Beginners, returners and newcomers are always welcome.

A free three-week compassion-based mindfulness programme for family carers will run at Mossie’s in Adrigole, Beara beginning Thursday April 23, 12-3pm.

For more information: phone: 087 2700572 or email: susanoreganmindfulness@gmail.com 
www.mindhaven.ie

Thanks to four DNA testers, who have West Cork O’NEILL connections, we have now confirmed (or genetically proven prefer) the outline story for the origins of some of the O’NEILLs in West Cork. The latest piece of the puzzle landed the day before St Patrick’s Day. All four have taken the male DNA test known as ‘Big Y’.

‘Big Y’ is a male line DNA test provided by FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) and is currently the most detailed test of its kind. For the last 500 years or so, this essentially ties all unbroken male lines to family names. All four O’NEILL testers show that their male lines are genetically connected and unbroken.

The most recent result is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, it identifies a single C16th male (MRCA: Most Recent Common Ancestor) who was the father of two sons, whose lineages became O’MAHONY and O’NEILL. This confirms the detailed genetic work done by the O’NEILL project at FTDNA and matches the various annals of Irish history that document the split into both family names known today.

Two additional testers surnamed MAHONEY and MAHANEY connect with the four O’NEILLs at this historical period, estimated to be around 1550 from DNA alone. (Please refer to my previous articles regarding the deeper historical connection.) The tested MAHONEY traces his origins to Maryland in the US at about 1760.

As previously reported, a letter written by a member of the O’NEILL family from Knocks, outlined the basic story of a young boy arriving in West Cork following the Siege of Limerick (1690) and settling in Garranes and Ballinard. While it has been a challenge to match all the detail from the letter, it has been possible using standard atDNA tests to connect O’NEILLs from Knocks with those from Derrimilleen, Reenroe & Cashelisky, and to some overseas branches.

The young lad, Sean O’NEILL, married and was reported to have had five sons. These children were likely born in the 1720-1730 period. This is now confirmed by the Y-DNA tree. All four O’NEILL testers with West Cork origins connect at a single male MRCA, estimated from just DNA alone, to about 1650. This is likely to be Sean or his father. The testers then split into two pairs.

The two testers from Derrimilleen and Knocks share the same natural genetic mutation. The two other testers, who’s surnamed became O’NEIL (with one ’l,’ due to emigration to the UK and US) share an additional natural genetic mutation downstream of this, which supports their family narrative. The latter pair share origins from a man born around 1720 who settled in Drimoleague, before his descendants moved and settled at Cashelisky adjacent to their cousins at Reenroe. This indicates that their ancestor was most likely a son of Sean. The other pair are known to descend from the man known as Felim or Filem Mor (‘Big Felix’) of Ballinard.

A genetic framework now exists for anyone wishing to investigate their West Cork male lines (O’NEILL or O’MAHONY) to check whether they tie in or not using Y-DNA, specifically the Big Y test. Normal customer atDNA tests (as provided by FTDNA, Ancestry and MyHeritage, and so on) can help tie lineages together in the post-1800 period.

I am grateful, through my previous articles, that O’NEILL descendants have shared their family stories. They remain of interest but ideally would be supported by both atDNA and Y-DNA tests at some time in the future. Hopefully, the success of this project will encourage others to DNA test.

One of the main features of ‘collecting’ O’NEILL lineages in West Cork is that most seem to have a Felix in them. My current total is around 40 people of that name. Most of these lineages cannot be connected on paper to the main framework and it is noted that three of Seans sons are yet to be accounted for, so highly suggestive many O’NEILLs in the region may actually be genetically part of the same family. Of course, there will also be those families of the name that have different origins (not from Sean) but may find themselves connecting a little further back.

As a final comment, I would like to mention the ‘rule of three’. For both of the established O’NEILL branches, and the pair of MAHONEYs, there are currently only two tests for each. Once a third tester on any of the branches comes in then the Y-DNA project will provide even more detailed mapping downstream of the already established ancestors. This opens up more rigorous genetic support for any paper trail undergoing research.

If anyone wishes advice on how best to join the project(s) and test for their genetic origins, please contact me.

Questions for future articles can be emailed to DNAmatchingprojects@gmail.com. Private client services available. Follow the West Cork DNA blog on Facebook ‘My Irish Genealogy and DNA’.

We rarely ask the same question about our money. What are you growing financially right now? Not what you hope to grow, or what you plan to get around to later, but what your current habits are actually building.

Because whether we realise it or not, we are all growing something. For some, it is savings, small amounts put aside consistently, building a sense of security over time. For others, it might be debt slowly creeping up, not through one big decision, but through a series of small ones. For many, it is simply standing still, where money comes in, money goes out, and nothing is really being built in the background. And for some, it is stress, that constant feeling of not quite knowing where you stand.

None of this is about judgement. It is simply about awareness. Money tends to grow in the direction we give attention to. If everything is focused on today, then today is all that gets looked after. But when even a small bit of attention is given to the future, things begin to shift.

Savings, investing and pensions are often spoken about as if they are big, complicated steps. In reality, they each play a very simple role. Savings give you breathing space, investments give your money a job, and pensions give your future self options. But it is not about choosing one over the other. It is about having a mix of all three working quietly in the background.

Savings are what get you through the unexpected. The car repair, the higher-than-usual bill, the month where everything seems to land at once. Without savings, every surprise becomes stress. With even a small buffer, you have breathing room. Investments are what allow your money to grow beyond what you could do by saving alone. Leaving everything sitting in cash might feel safe, but over time it can lose value. Investing, even in small amounts, gives your money a purpose and allows it to build in the background while you focus on your day-to-day life. Pensions are the long game. They are often the easiest to ignore because they feel so far away, but they are one of the most powerful tools you have. They benefit from time more than anything else, and starting earlier, even with small amounts, can make a significant difference later on.

When these three areas work together, they create balance. You are covered for today, building for tomorrow, and protecting your future at the same time. When one is missing, it can create pressure elsewhere. Too much focus on spending today can leave you exposed later, while focusing only on long-term saving without flexibility can leave you stretched in the short term.

One of the biggest things I see is people waiting. Waiting to earn more, waiting for life to calm down, waiting until they feel more organised. The intention is always there, but time moves on quickly, and ‘later’ has a way of becoming much further away than expected. The longer you leave it, the harder it becomes to build momentum.

The truth is, most people do not have a money problem. They have a starting problem. It is not about having thousands to invest or large amounts to save. It is about building the habit of doing something consistently. It might be €20 a week into savings, a small pension contribution, or finally setting up something you have been putting off. Small, steady actions will always have more impact than big plans that never quite happen.

And real life does need to be factored in. Between the weekly shop and everything else life throws in, it is easy to feel like there is nothing left to put away. But even in those seasons, awareness matters. Knowing what is coming in, what is going out, and what is quietly building in the background puts you back in control. Doing nothing is still a decision. The question is whether that decision is giving you the outcome you want.

This is not about cutting out everything you enjoy or putting your life on hold. It is about balance. Enjoying today while still looking after tomorrow. You do not need to overhaul everything overnight, and you do not need a perfect plan. But having some structure, even a simple one, changes how money feels. It moves from something reactive to something intentional.

If you were to stop for a moment and look at your current habits, what would they say? Are they building security, flexibility, and options for the future, or are they simply getting you through the month? There is no right or wrong answer, only an opportunity to adjust.

Because the reality is, your financial future is not built in one big moment. It is built quietly, in everyday choices, over time. And whether you realise it or not, something is growing.

Halpin Wealth Management offers free consultations. Visit www.hwm.ie or email info@hwm.ie to learn more.