Sin Scéal Eile

Darren took us on a tour of the Eco Village in Cloughjordan, something I've always been fascinated with. It's an incredible community of wildly different people who all share a similar ethos. They have each built sustainable homes, decorated the parks and trails with edible plants, and have an amphitheater, enterprise center (with 3D printers and laser wood cutting facilities) and even allotments on site.

I’ve met Matt before today, but only through a screen. I was his mentor for a few sessions and was tasked with providing him with guidance with his photography. Really though, he didn’t need it. Matt’s work is stunning and incredibly unique. He uses his photography to access his community and connect with his queerness. He photographs male, nude models, but has also found liberation in becoming a life model himself. Rx

Miceál has been given a second and third chance at life. He is the recipient of two kidney transplants, one when he was 14 and another just last year. The donors? His own brother and sister. He is, of course, incredibly grateful to them, and does not take a single moment in life for granted. Rx

Avery introduced me to the wonderful world of ceramics. In Dublin 8 there’s a fantastic community ceramics studio called Throwing Shapes where you can pay a membership fee and throw down some clay. Avery has found his joy teaching classes, making lovely wee mugs and even a bespoke piece for his Nana’s urn!xR

Sian is a woman’s woman. With each success she puts the ladder back down to help others come up. We met in her new home in Cork that’s surrounded by rubble as she renovates it.  We cover so many topics, from her numerous pilates studios, plus size athleisure wear, her huge successes in business, and being a busy, fulfilled, childfree woman who goes out of her way to help other Female Founders. Rx

Robyn is a beautiful young woman, full of the joys of life. She’s in a relationship, living away from home in Cork city where she goes to college. This normal, happy life wasn’t always on the cards for Robyn and she feels so lucky to be where she is now. Robyn has been chronically ill her whole life. She was diagnosed with POTS at a young age and since then has battled with lots of different symptoms and other diagnoses along the way. She’s 20 now, and with physio, medication and hard work she has started to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and a chance to start living a more carefree life. xR

We met Caroline at her family home, and she gave us the grand tour (in the hopes that we might be prospective buyers). Caroline is grabbing life by the horns and living the best life she possibly can, like she always has done. She’s determined and strong willed. At the age of 4, after seeing news coverage on TV, she decided she wanted to become a nurse and help children in Africa. Her undiagnosed dyslexia didn’t make it an easy career path to follow, but she did it nonetheless . She went on to travel the world, raise a family, build a beautiful home and become an artist. She may be in her 60s, but Caroline is showing no signs of slowing down. (It was her badass idea to be photographed on the ride-on mower!)Rx

Jonathan has the coolest job. He makes title animations for TV & film, something that I find truly fascinating as it sets the scene for the whole show. Of late, he has entered the world of fine art, selling pieces in the RHA annual show and gaining the confidence to perhaps pursue it a little more seriously than ever before. This segway is something he can only do now that his kids are a little older and the risks are a little lower.With his wife, Cara, they made the decision to move back to his home town of Ballydehob to raise their kids. Their home is idyllic and feels like we’re sitting in the french countryside under a sun-dappled vineyard, his little dachshund chilling at our feet and Cara making dinner inside. If this is West Cork, then I’m in. Rx