Sin Scéal Eile

Like a lot of people, Covid changed things for Caitriona, but in a really lovely way. Her work went mostly remote, which made her really look at where she was in the world. After great consideration with her husband, they packed up their lives in Dublin, along with their 1 year old, and moved West to open a cafe. She now gets the best of both worlds, occasionally popping up to Dublin for work, taking in the buzz of the city, and then retreating to Louisburgh when she’s had enough. The dream! Rx

Francis founded the Red Fox Press book publishing and gallery when he landed in Ireland from Belgium back in 2002. Shortly after he met Antic-Ham and convinced her to also move to Ireland. Together they run the most wonderfully artistic enterprise, publishing art books, taking photos, making screen prints and selling vintage cameras. Francis has the largest collection of polaroid and instant cameras I’ve ever witnessed. Thousands of them, ranging in uses, from dentist cameras to police mugshot cameras.Needless to say, I very much enjoyed our chats!  Rx

On our travels through the West coast we got wind of a very unique gallery/shop on Achill Island, owned by a couple, Ham and Francis (Francis’ story will follow tomorrow). We walked into Red Fox Press and instantly knew that we were in the right place. The gallery is an analogue dream. It’s filled with hand drawn illustrations, vintage cameras and tiny art books, hundreds of them. Antic-Ham is an artist, illustrator, photographer and publisher. When she’s not greeting customers in the shop, she’s out the back, hand sewing book bindings or painting her unique style of imagery. She’s an extremely warm and friendly woman, with a smile that spreads across her face when she talks about Francis. Rx

If you ever need to feel the sunshine in Achill, visit Miriam. She's a salt of the earth Dub who came from Crumlin to reconnect with the Irish language. She sold up her business and found a derelict house in the Wild West that she breathed life into once again. Part of her day to day now is doing a bit of community outreach. She acts like a point of contact for anyone who might be feeling a bit lonely or isolated (which I imagine could be a lot of folk in the summer months). When she's not out chatting, she's utilizing every second of her life. Learning guitar, painting, making glass works, and generally just being a total sounder. xR

Sports mad journalist, Patrick, has found himself in the right job over at Paddy Power so much so he’s stuck at it for 20 years. He has a podcast studio at home, where he chats about horses (while looking at his own horses out the window). He’ll be the first to admit he grew up privileged, his parents taking him to Hong Kong for 2 years when he was 16 and then letting him stay in a perpetual “free gaf” for his college years, the house quickly being dubbed as “PK’s Casino”.Rx

Noeleen has the coolest job in the world. She’s the director of the National Botanic Gardens, and yes, she gets to live on the grounds. Noeleen has had a wild journey to get to this prestigious position, following her heart and passion all the way. I never anticipated where our chat would lead, but together we discussed plant conservation, wild Irish orchids, frankincense and even Noeleen’s impact on rosewood necked guitars. I can’t thank Noeleen enough for the guided tour and behind the scenes nose around the Gardens. BEST.DAY.EVER.Rx

Fancy hearing a wonderfully romantic story about a whirlwind marriage proposal and a night in an antique store? Janice and Pete have been married for 35 years and have the most beautiful story of how they met. Press play to have your faith in men restored!Rx

We caught up with Kate in the midst of rehearsals for her Dublin Fringe Festival show, West Meath Gothic. It sounds like an eerie tale, addressing the epidemic of loneliness in rural Ireland. Kate has brought all of her worlds together for this show; writing, acting and aerial dance and today she tells me the reality of bringing a show to life in 2026.  It opens on Sept 16th in the Project Arts Centre and if the promo photos are anything to go by, it’s going to be STUNNING.xR

Ruairí is just 34 years old and has already gone through a marriage and a divorce, but he hasn’t let that temporary bad patch decide the tone of the rest of his life. On the contrary. Ruairí has thrown out the rule book. He takes the ups and downs in his stride, learning from them, while leaning on the support of good friends and therapy. He has used cycling, music, books and photography to revive his life and no longer worries about what he can’t control. Rx