People – Page 4 – Currane Community Website

Bridgie Moran (Bheag) RIP (2002)

This interview took place in 2002:
Bridgie celebrated her 90th birthday, surrounded by friends and family on January 12th 2002. The pictures on the right show her at her birthday party at the Compass Bar.
Our thanks to Mark Ruddy for carrying out out this interview and to all of Bridgie’s family who emailed their nominations.
Our sincere condolences to Bridgie and her family over the recent death of her sister,
Mary O’Malley of Currane and Manchester.

Name:	Bridget Moran
Age:	90
Tell us a little about your family:	I have 10 children- 6 girls and 4 boys. 27 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. Some live in England, some in Ireland.
What do you like about Currane?	The friendliness and good nature of my neighbours.
What is your favourite view in the area?	Clare Island, Clew Bay, the lovely big mountain in front of my kitchen window, Currane Hill.
What is your favourite time of year?	Spring
How would you improve the area?	Street lighting and employment for the youth.
Is there a place that you enjoyed traveling to?	Shopping at the nearest town.
Favourite TV programme:	Fair City
Favourite song:	Any of Dana’s
Favourite film:	The Quiet Man
Favourite drink:	Whiskey
Favourite food:	Not fussy
Favourite night out:	The whist.
Favourite sports:	Rugby and Gaelic football.
Favourite teams:	Manchester United and the local team.
Which person would you most like to meet (living or dead)?	My Husband (deceased)
Any plans for the year ahead and the future?	To stay in good health and to go out and enjoy myself.

Alistair Steger-Lewis (2001)

This interview took place in 2001:
Al (as he’s known to his friends) recently became chairman of the Achill IT committee.
He has lived in Currane since May 2000.

Name:	Alistair Steger-Lewis
Age:	37
Tell us a little about your family and links with the area:	My wife is Jane, whose mother was born in Currane. My parents live in Southsea, UK. I have a sister who lives in Honduras teaching scuba diving and training dolphins, and a brother who is currently in Thailand training to be a scuba dive master.
Tell us a little about your employment history and professional life:	I studied electrical engineering at King’s College London, graduating in 1989. I started my career with a small DTP Bureau and Publishing Systems Integrator in Fulham, south-west London, initially in the bureau but moving into systems engineering after a year. I worked my way up to Engineering Manager, then the company went bust! Several freelance and short-term jobs later (including a spell at Harrods) I moved to Associated Newspapers (Daily Mail, Evening Standard etc.). Nearly five years passed by, after which I went to the Guardian for a year before moving to Currane. My wife, Jane, and I now run our own business offering a wide variety of services including web/internet development, publishing consultancy, graphic design and general ITC consultancy.
What do you like about Currane?	The people/community, scenery, lifestyle & priorities.
What is your favourite view in the area?	The view across Clew Bay to Clare Island
What is your favourite time of year?	Spring, with all its promises of growth and regeneration; crisp, clear days lengthening towards summer; the calm before the tourist season starts. There is no bad time of year, and I love a powerful storm!
Is there anything you would like to change about Currane?	I’d like to see a telephone exchange in Currane so we could all have a decent phone service and benefit from high speed technologies as they become available. It’s be nice to see less litter in the countryside and the sea.
Tell us about your role on the IT Committee and community work in general.	When Jane and I moved here we wanted to become involved in community development. We talked to the late Denis Gallagher about it and he arranged for us to join the Achill IT Committee in January 2001. The IT Committee is part of the Achill Local Development Company and is responsible for running two IT Centres, one in rented offices the former school in Crumpaun, Keel, and one in Currane, in a room rented from Muintir a’ Chorrain, the Currane Development Company. These centres were set up to train the people of the parish in Information and Communication Technologies with the aim of both enhancing employment prospects for individuals and attracting businesses to the parish. In October I was asked to take on the role of Chairman of the committee. Of course I didn’t hesitate! There are many challenges ahead. The IT Centres have been running since 1998 and in that time over 2000 trainees have taken advantage of the courses. We must now move on to the next stage, to proactively encourage businesses to start up or locate in the parish and to offer higher-level or ‘next-step’ courses. We are working with other groups and state agencies in an attempt to set up an Business Centre where enterprising individuals and groups can start up businesses, receiving support and sharing costs. We are looking at ways of expanding our protfolio of training courses. We are embarking on several social projects that we hope will benefit the parish in their own right as well as stimulating economic activity. We are delighted that, in the last week, we have succeeded with an application for funding under the Social Economy Program, which will directly create 5 jobs focussed on driving forward our development program. Jane and I are also on the board of Muintir a’ Chorrain and hope to play a part in developments within Currane, in particular in relation to telecommunications.
Is there a place that you enjoyed traveling to?	Australia was quite an experience, though best enjoyed when you’re young! Skiing in the USA was fabulous. Amsterdam was fun. But Venice for our honeymoon was the best place I’ve been: the opulent luxury of a fine hotel, meals on the Grand Canal, and so much culture!
Do you have a favourite type of music?	70s/80s ‘pop’, especially glam-rock and Abba! I’m also ather partial to Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and ‘heavy metal’ from the 70s and early 80s. Actually my tastes are quiet varied, though Jane is not too keen on most of my choices!
Favourite song:	It’s a tough choice. Something by Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Abba or the Carpenters maybe. ‘Music Was My First Love’ by John Miles always makes the hairs on my neck tingle, and for passion and pride it’s hard to beat ‘Flower of Scotland’, ‘Jerusalem’ or especially ‘Ireland’s Call’.
Favourite drink:	Guinness in the pub and good coffee elsewhere.
Favourite food:	Haggis, game and kebabs!
Favourite night out:	A night in the George – always a warm welcome, good company and great Guinness.
Favourite sports:	Rugby, F1 Motor Racing.
Favourite teams:	Rugby: Harlequins and England; Munster & Ireland. F1: McLaren, Williams, Jordan.
Any plans for the year ahead and the future?	To build a house, develop our business to a point where we are profitable, and to work with local groups to develop Currane and Achill – especially the telecommunications in Currane.

Maeve Cafferkey (2001)

This interview took place in 2001:
We’ve decided to award this slot to two personalities this month; Noreen and Maeve have just arrived back from their epic adventure in the southern hemisphere.
They have provided us with much entertainment during their months away with their dispatches on the Currane.net message board. Now they are back amongst us.
Welcome home Noreen and Maeve!

To read Noreen’s interview click here.

Name:	Maeve Cafferkey
Age:	22
Family details/links with the area:	My parents come from and live in Achill. I have three brothers and a sister and a dog.
Where do you live?	I’m supposed to be living at home with my parents but I often find myself stranded in The Compass late at night, so I sleep there the odd night.
Tell us about your travels:	The excitement really began when we left the fruit-farm in April. Our first adventure was when we rented a car and drove along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. The scenery here was gorgeous and there were parts that really reminded us of home… with the heather landscape and the cliffs. This was our first time driving properly in Australia, and my driving experience speaks for itself while Noreen’s “nice and easy” pace made us miss our ferry! So I spent my time telling her to speed up a bit and she was telling me to slow down. And both of us thought that we were the best drivers ever!! We headed to Sydney from here to go to the Kylie Minogue concert on May 10th, and it was a great show – Kylie was brilliant! And I’m not a fan or anything, but we had a mighty night. From Sydney we went to New Zealand. Noreen had to be out of the country by the end of May as her visa was up, so when we went to New Zealand, she renewed her visa there for another three months. We rented another car in New Zealand, and we drove aimlessly around the south island before we landed in Queenstown. I know not everybody is interested in this, but the road we took in getting to Queenstown was the worst road in the world. It was what the Irish would call a bog road, but it went over a mountain range, going up and down through the mountains and we only had a tiny bit of petrol. We were sure that we would perish on Dansey’s Pass, but luckily after 5 hours of second gear driving we arrived safely on a tarred road. That was by far the scariest thing that I have done since the driving test. Queenstown was where we went on the Luge… we took a ski lift to the top of a mountain and then got into these go-carts and raced down the mountain! It was mental craic but as I said earlier, Noreen is a cautious driver, so she took her time racing down while I was such an Irvine wannabe! Then I took the plunge and did a bungee jump – 440 feet – and that was classic! There was an eight second freefall before I bounced back up and so for the first few seconds I was thinking “Yeah!! I’m great! I jumped!”, and then I still had time to panic before the rope tightened, so it was really scary, but worth it! We even went ice-skating in New Zealand, but after an hour of wet and sore bums we quit. We can’t be cut out for EVERYTHING can we?! We left New Zealand and flew into Perth. We met up with my brother Eamon here and all three of us went job searching. We all found a nice sales job and we all got on well in the interview and the following day when the time came to start the job, we ended up having to go from door to door selling teddy bear bookends. Fifteen minutes into the job I quit, Noreen lasted 2 hours and Eamon lasted the whole day. We were never so embarrassed to be selling anything in our lives. That experience alone made us want to leave Perth, so we did. I went on a tour to Alice Springs in the centre of the country, while Eamon and Noreen flew to Darwin in the north. On my travels I learned an awful lot about the Aboriginals, about their survival and their demise over the past 200 years. I did a tour of the Ayers Rock, which was mind-blowing. I never thought that it would hold me like it did. I still can’t begin to explain the greatness of it. After this experience, I flew to Darwin to meet Eamon and Noreen. We went to Kakadu National Park a couple of days later and we had the time of our lives. Climbing, swimming, trekking, living life to the max every minute of every day. It was exhilarating being there and it was with sorry hearts that we left Kakadu and headed back to the concrete jungle again. We celebrated Eamon’s 21st in Darwin and the following day we flew to Cairns to do the diving course that we had planned for months. The Great Barrier Reef was breathtaking; we couldn’t get enough dives in. And again, we hated the thought of going back to the busy town of Cairns; we loved the peace and quiet of the ocean. In Cairns I did a parachute jump with Eamon while Noreen went ballooning. Now that was fantastic! It wasn’t as scary as the bungee jump because I didn’t have to jump, but it went on forever… I freefell for about 45 seconds and then landed like a pro! Mary Carmel Gallagher, who had been to Australia a couple of years ago, recommended that we take Uncle Brian’s tour from Cairns, so we did. It took us to the surrounding rainforests where we spent a great day learning even more about how the animals and the people survived the climates. A couple of days later, we were all supposed to go white-water rafting, but we slept in and missed the bus, so we put it down to fate and continued on our travels. Our next stop was the Whitsunday Islands off Australia’s east coast, where we spent 3 days lounging on a yacht, living the high life! We stopped on different islands for a lounge in the sun or even a snooze and we jumped off the yacht at our leisure for a swim in the warm tropical waters. It was absolute heaven, but three days was enough for me. The boredom would have got the better of me after that! Fraser Island was our next stop, an island of complete sand with those fierce dingoes roaming around the place. Here we rented a four-wheel drive and bopped and bumped our way around the island. I must now say that here on Fraser Island, my excellent driving capabilities and experience showed their worth and I proved myself to be one of the finest drivers of my generation!! In my head anyway! And then it was back to Sydney for our last couple of days where we stayed with Shaun Kilbane from Saula. We left Australia and headed to Bangkok for a couple of days and then flew to Koh Samui, one of the islands off Thailand. From Koh Samui we headed to Koh Pha-Ngan where Noreen spent a day diving while I rented a three-speed scooter and motored my way around the island! I gave Noreen a spin on the back of the scooter going home one night and we were going uphill when the engine conked and the two of us fell off the bike. So much for my driving skills! We headed back to Bangkok again, where we went to a friendly football match between Thailand and Manchester United, and that was a mighty match… the Thai people are dotes! So then we headed to Noreen’s sister Maura in London and spent a couple of days around London, before landing home! Home sweet home!
What were the highlights of your trip?	For me, the desert between Perth and Alice Springs was a highlight of my trip. Kakadu National Park just out of Darwin was also a place that will stay with me forever. It’s a coincidence that both these places cost nothing… it was the feeling that I got in these places that made it so good for me; learning about the land, experiencing the bush and the desert, exploring places, being filthy all the time… material things were of no relevance and that made those places appeal to me the most.
What were the low points?	I hated New Year’s Eve… I love the way we celebrate it here with the whole family and friends and neighbours and hugging and kissing. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What did you most miss about home while away?	My family, my car, my bed and older people. We hadn’t much contact with older people while we were away, the circles that we found ourselves in were mostly backpacker circles, so I missed the presence of older people.
What was it like spending so much time with Noreen?	It was an experience. Noreen is very adaptable, so any situation that we found ourselves in Noreen was always graceful in her dealing with it. She’s always up for a laugh, and she embraces new experiences with gusto! She has a very easy presence, which makes her a delight to be with and she finds the funny side of things to every disaster of which there were many! Even in Australia, where we’d have spent a month looking at each other, if the time came for us to separate for a while, I’d only be walking away from her and I’d be missing her already. She is a mighty cook, which suited me down to the ground! And she’s great at keeping a tossed room, which didn’t suit me down to the ground at all until we moved into the same room and I began to learn the beauty of not tidying your room. She’s a great guru! And we sang… and sang… and sang. We sang our way around the world. We didn’t need to know the words or the beat, we just sang whatever tune came into our heads and we kept singing. For hours. Without stopping. Without caring. Without worrying. It was exhilarating being with her. I can’t deal with her not being beside me all the time now, it’s weird. Except for the week that I was in the desert, we probably spent an hour apart every week, if even the hour, so it’s tough not having her there. I find myself talking away to myself now, thinking that she’s there, so it will be a big adjustment to make getting used to being apart.
Profession, past/present employment details:	Pass… I used to be a lot of things but I’m just trying to sort out what I’m going to do for the future now.
What do you like about Currane?	The pace of the place, the attitude of the people towards the place, and The Compass Bar (my home away from home).
How would you improve the area?	To improve the area, I would issue honorary citizenship to myself. That’s all that’s needed for the place to be improved really…. oh yeah and the roads. I’d get Fine Gael to come in and put in proper roads.
Favourite place/view:	In the whole world, my favourite view is a sunset over any horizon. Just land or sea and the sky, with the sun setting
Favourite time of year/weather:	My birthday is my favourite time of year (September 23rd.. !!). I love bad weather lashing against you with the wind knocking you everywhere. Sideways rain I could do without, but you have to take the good with the bad
Favourite story/folklore:	Pass… Again, I don’t have a favourite story.
Favourite saying:	“Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí”. It’s a fairly well known saying, but it’s a good one. The meaning behind it is to praise the youth so they’ll prosper rather than being dogmatic towards them. What’s the point in giving out to a child?
Place you’ve most enjoyed travelling to (and why):	Currane. It’s just the best place ever!
Favourite book:	There’s none that I would call my favourite of all.
Favourite music:	Traditional Irish stuff.
Favourite song (Irish):	Mo Ghile Mhear.
Favourite film:	One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, followed by the Godfather Trilogy.
Favourite drink:	Water.
Favourite food:	I’ve taken quite a fancy to Thai food lately, so that’s my favourite at the moment.
Favourite type of night out in the area:	Anywhere there’s singing and dancing.
What sports do you enjoy:	I’ve never tried a sport that I didn’t enjoy.
Which teams do you support:	St. Vincents…!!
Which person would you most like to meet living or dead:	Bono or W.B. Yeats, it’s between the two of them.
Any important plans/resolutions for the future:	I would like to wake up laughing every day.

To read Noreen’s interview click here.

Noreen (Johnny) Gallagher (2001)

To read Maeve’s interview click here.

Name:	Noreen Gallagher
Age:	27
Where do you live?	The Compass Bar.
Tell us about your travels:	I’ve been travelling through Australia for the past 14 months. I arrived in Sydney firstly. I was travelling on my own so it was a bit scary at first; I didn’t even know how to make a phone call out of the country. I left Sydney about three months later, I couldn’t afford to stay there as they were putting up the prices in the hostels for the Olympics so I moved down to Melbourne. I had a friend from home living in Melbourne, so he was a bit of company for me. It was hard travelling on my own so an old face is always welcome. After about three months was when the fun really started! Maeve flew into Oz. We spent about a week in Melbourne doing all the touristy stuff, like rollerblading, which I just happened to be really bad at but Maeve took to it like a duck to water. The usual other things like a visit to the Crown Casino (the largest in the Southern Hemisphere). So then we found ourselves back in Sydney. We lived in an apartment in Botany Bay. We thought that because of the song everyone at home would have heard about Botany! We started working in a pub in the middle of Sydney. We were there for a couple of months before we realized that we couldn’t save money for travel, so we left Sydney and went to a fruit farm in Victoria. We were working there for ten weeks picking grapes and feeding ourselves well on them. This was hard going, not so much the work but living and working so closely with the same people day in day out. I think boredom was the biggest factor on the farm but still it was a great experience and we met the nicest of people. So after the three months there we’d had enough and we decided it was time to see Australia. So our journey begins! We firstly headed off down the south coast of Victoria along the Great Ocean Road. We spent a few days driving along it before we had to head back to Sydney. When we went back to Sydney we stayed with Sean Kilbane and his girlfriend Anne-Marie, Sean is from Saula and we were very grateful to them for putting us up and putting up with us. The reason we were back in Sydney was a for the Kylie concert. We had a ball at it. So a few days later we fly out of Australia into New Zealand. New Zealand was just a short holiday for us. I was going over to get a holiday visa back into Australia. When we were there it was wintertime we wanted to get some skiing in but the season hadn’t started so we found other activities like bungee jumps, which I didn’t do, but my good travelling companion had a go at it. Going down the side of a hill in a little go cart was one of the activities we tried, this was called The Luge. Our time was up in New Zealand and we flew back into Australia’s west coast, into western Australias capital city Perth. We met up with Maeve’s brother Eamon here. We looked for work but couldn’t find any, so we decided to leave before we got stuck with no money and couldn’t get out of it. Maeve headed to the Red Centre by bus and me and Eamon went to Darwin. Maeve met us again about a week later all excited about her outback experience and ready for more outback living. We did a tour of Kakadu National Park, this is where a lot of the Crocodile Dundee was filmed. This was my first time in the Bush, sleeping under the stars in swags. We then fly on to Cairns where all our adventures were to take place. Our first adventure was a diving course, we spent five days learning to dive on The Great Barrier Reef, and its a whole different world down there. I took to the skies to overcome my fear of heights and went ballooning one morning. Then we went on a tour of the rain forests and learned about the different trees and their medicinal benefits. Back on the road again heading south, our next stop was The Whitsunday Islands. This was just pure luxury. We were on board an 80-foot maxi yacht for three days. We just lazed around on the deck and took a few swims when it got too hot. Next we went to Fraser Island, this is the largest sand island in the world. Its a World Heritage area. We hired a four-wheel drive for our time here; it was the first time any of us had driven one. Next thing we knew we were back in Sydney and heading off to Thailand. We couldn’t believe our time in Australia was up. We spent nearly a week in Thailand doing a bit of island hopping, hoping to get a tan before going home. Then we flew to London and spent a few days there before arriving home to Currane.
What were the highlights of your trip?	Without a doubt it was Kakadu National Park. I have never seen so much wild life before. The thing I really loved was sleeping under the stars in the swags, just looking up and the last thing you see is the stars before you go to sleep at night. We learned a lot about the Aboriginal communities here, their history is amazing. I found that on this trip I did a lot of thinking, it made you think of what’s really important and having nothing didn’t seem to bother us. We were quite depressed coming back into Darwin after our few days in the Bush.
What were the low points?	I couldn’t say that there were any. We did go through some tough times on the money side of things, but there was nothing I would change about the whole trip.
What did you most miss about home while away?	You miss your family of course but like Maeve said we didn’t have any contact with older people and were used to sitting down and having the craic with them. I really missed Club Orange, we used to dream about it, and I’ve only had a couple of drinks of it since I came home but still its Mmmmm!
What was it like spending so much time with Maeve?	Maeve and me are very different people; Maeve is more organized than me so she gets the job done quicker, where as I’d be still thinking about doing it. In all the time we spent in Australia we were hardly ever apart, we’d look for work together, we’d go out together and we lived together. I think that if Maeve hadn’t come out to me in Australia I wouldn’t have seen all I saw. She is with out a shadow of a doubt the best person in the worst situation, always keeping the cool and looking at things rationally. For all her rational thinking, she’s mad as a hatter. She was always up for the craic and anyone she met she’d make them laugh. I’m glad she has such a care free out look on life because that out look kept me sane when things were getting tough. Now I’m not saying that it was all roses all the time, there were times when things got on top of the two of us and we had a few words, but that’s all they were. The next thing you knew Maeve would be off singing and dancing and just doing what she does best being mad! I wouldn’t have liked to travel Australia with anyone else. Her good humour and level head were just what I needed; I’d do it all over again with her!
Profession, past/present employment details:	Pass. Like Maeve I’ve done a lot of different things but I have to sort out the future now too.
What do you like about Currane?	The people!
How would you improve the area?	I would love to do something about the roads in Currane, they’re in a bad state. Its nice to go for a walk around the roads so maybe a little footpath just along the main roads would be good. I would also love to have some kind of park with a play area, picnic area and benches, just for the children to have a place to go to where they can play safely.
Favourite place/view:	My favourite view is of Clare Island. On the Currane side of Nevins pub in Tiernaur you can see Clare island completely but just briefly. It always takes my breath away.
Favourite time of year/weather:	My favourite time of year in Currane is the wintertime, its nice and quite, the fires is blazing and there’s only a few people around to talk to. Now even though winter is my favourite time of year I love hot weather. Going to the beach for a swim to cool down and things like that, talk about a contradiction in terms!
Favourite story/folklore:	I like stories on Grace O’Malley the pirate queen.
Favourite saying:	Don’t have one.
Place you’ve most enjoyed travelling to (and why):	Thailand, it was an eye opener and very educational, the weather had a lot to do with it as well.
Place you’d never want to visit again (and why):	There is no place I wouldn’t go back to. Every place has some good about it, it might be just that little bit harder to find!
Favourite book:	Cain and Abel, by Geoffrey Archer.
Favourite music:	I like Indie music, my favourite band are James.
Favourite song (Irish):	I really like Van.
Favourite film:	The Life of Brian, followed by Braveheart and the Wizard of OZ.
Favourite drink:	Bulmers Original Cider, ‘all in its own good time’.
Favourite food:	Indian food, the hotter the better!
Favourite type of night out in the area:	I like it when its quiet, I hate going into a place that’s packed, you can’t beat a good singsong.
What sports do you enjoy:	I like most sports, Like Maeve I’ve never tried one I didn’t like either!
Which teams do you support:	Currane!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Which person would you most like to meet living or dead:	Bono is one and the other is Madonna, I’ve always thought that she was a great person.
Any important plans/resolutions for the future?	To be happy forever!

To read Maeve’s interview click here.

Charlie Gallagher (2001)

This interview took place in 2001:
We were delighted to catch up with Charlie after his successful charity fundraising jet-ski trip to the Clare Island Festival.

Favourite drink:	Heineken
Favourite food:	Fish, steak, curry.
Favourite night out:	An evening in McLoughlin’s with family and friends, with music from Ray Cox, Wallop The Cat and The Mulloy Brothers.
Favourite sports:	GAA, Rugby, Soccer.
Favourite teams:	Mayo, Celtic, Liverpool, the Irish Rugby Team.
Which person would you most like to meet (living or dead):	Michael Collins.
Do you have any plans for the year ahead?:	I’d like to spend more time with my family (or rather, have them spend more time with me!), and to enjoy myself a bit more. I would love to organise music and dancing lessons for our young people to keep our traditions going. I would love to meet a nice, faithful, loving girl to share the good things in life with.
You’ve just completed a charity fundraising jet ski ride to Clare Island. Tell us about it:	It all started when John Moran and I were relaxing over a few pints after a hard day’s work, discussing all the friends and people in the area who had died of cancer. We decided that we should organise some kind of beach party and barbeque to raise funds for a cancer charity. I then saw and advert in the Mayo News for the inaugural Pirate Queen Music Festival on Clare Island and it occured to me that a jet ski run from Achill to Clare Island might be a good fundraiser, so I persuaded Rory to bring his jet ski over from London. Yvonne and her husband, Mick Kelly, were over for a wedding the week before the event but unfortunately couldn’t stay on. We are grateful to the Garda Superintendant, who gave us a special permit to collect money, and we put collection buckets in many pubs and shops in Achill. The response from local people was fantastic and several people from Mulranny and Newport asked for collection buckets but our permit did not stretch this far. On the big day, Sunday July 1st, we held a collection at the Michael Davitt Bridge at Achill Sound, and afterwards in Alice’s (Ostán Oileán Acla). From 1pm to 3pm, at Alice’s, there was music from Ray Cox, Wallop The Cat, The Mulloy Brothers, and Steven and Greg from Scotland. We then had a half hour boat display from John McLoughlin, David Campbell and Michael Fallon in the backup and safety boats, and Rory on the jet ski, after which we departed for Johnny Patten’s where there was a further display before we set off for Clare Island. The crossing was not as fast as we had hoped as the weather was poor and the sea pretty rough. Although we weren’t cold – we wore wet suits – my arms got quite sore from holding on! We certainly enjoyed the challenging conditions! On arrival at Clare Island we were met on the beach by a crowd of people, including one of the Fureys, Dick Burke of Dazzle Discs in Westport, the Festival organiser, who was very helpful and supportive, Carl & Chris Grady and Jane & Patrick O’Toole who organised the collection team on Clare Island. We enjoyed a fantastic night of song and dance with all the great musicians and to cap it all Dick Burke gave Steven and Greg special permission to close the Festival with a few songs, finishing with “Meet me on Clare Island.” They felt deeply honoured and were invited back for next year’s Festival. As if this weren’t enough, we must say a special “Thank You” to Carl and Chris Grady for their kind hospitality as they put us all up in their hotel free of charge. Thanks to the many people helped with the event, including my family from Scotland: Martin & Gillian Gibbons, their son Steven and his friend Greg; the collection committee and all the collectors, especially John McLoughlin, Michael Fallon & Noel Duggan who organised the collections in Achill and Jane & Patrick O’Toole, the collection organisers for Clare Island; the publicans and shop owners of Achill; Maureen and Owen of the Compass Bar, Currane; Pat Cawley and Cormac Ó Cionnaith of The Mayo News; Gerry Glennon of Mid West Radio and everyone else who was involved. This was the first Festival and the first such Jet Ski run, but we hope to repeat it next year. Finally, thanks to Al & Jane for all their hard work setting up and maintaining the Currane web site.

Editor’s note: We’re sure you’ll agree that this was a fantastic effort by Charlie to raise money for the The Irish Cancer Society.

Thanks Charlie for talking to us and all the best for the year ahead.

Cleo Watson (2001)

This interview took place in 2001:
We were extremely lucky to persuade Cleo to answer our questionnaire
as she is most definitely one of the busiest people we know.

Name:	Cleo Watson
Profession, past/present employment details:	Trained General Nurse, trained in England, Yoga teacher, Connemara pony breeder, you name it, I have done it or tried to! At present, I’m trying to get a business off the ground, Creative Writing and Photography, so far, two successful groups, Foot and mouth, clobbered me badly, hopefully I will recover.
What do you like about Currane?	I love everything about Currane, the view of the ocean from my window, the clean sweet smell of a Spring morning, the sound of the ocean when I am going to sleep, the blazing sunsets, the seals basking on the rocks, the peace and the peace-loving people.
Favourite walk/walks	My favourite walk/walks are from the house here across the cliffs to Peels house, great views and of course, all the thought provoking Lazy Beds, is it possible for anybody to see these and not conjure up a million stories? The other one is from here to the sandy banks, great beach for having fun with the dog, or just to be alone with my thoughts. A place to be still and be calm
Favourite place:	My favourite place is a big dark secret, it is where I go to let infant poems stretch and grow.
Favourite time of year:	The best time of year for me has to be the longer days of Summer, which means more time outside (If it isn’t raining!) for walking gardening or just messing about.
Favourite story/folklore:	It is very difficult to choose a favourite story, any from Russian Fairy Tales, I suppose. This book was given to me by my father when I was a little girl and couldn’t pronounce or understand most of the words. The quotation I am giving you comes from ‘Wassilissa The Beautiful’ ‘Lie down, shut thine eyes and go to sleep. The morning is always wiser than the evening’.
Place you’ve most enjoyed traveling to (and why):	I don’t have a favourite place to travel to, I just love to travel. However, traveling to Rwanda at the tail end of its horrendous war, was probably the most memorable. Rwanda is a place I would visit again,…Pure curiosity to see if the framework we put in place actually was viable. I often wonder how the Irish seed potatoes fared, no, we didn’t make lazy beds! I wonder about the water, Is it cleaner, do the men remember to keep cattle away from the wells, did the pregnant women deliver healthy babies. Did Sara ( an ‘unaccompanied’ child one of thousands) ever find her parents. This child will always own a piece of my heart, from the very first day she followed me everywhere, so very difficult to leave her behind when I came home.
Place you’ve least enjoyed traveling to:	There is nowhere that I wouldn’t visit again (well, perhaps Torrid Molinos!) good or bad, ugly or beautiful, there is always something to learn.
Place you would love to visit:	A place I would love to visit? There are so many!! My wildest dream (there are many of these too!! ) is to go to a culture that hasn’t been contaminated by the Western world, learn everything there is to learn, not teach anything!
Favourite book:	I love books, again, difficult to find a favourite, so here are three. ‘Women who run with the wolves’ by Clarrissa Estes. Very briefly and not doing this book justice, it is about the intuitive wisdom of women, a celebration of femininity and woman power. ‘Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying’ Sogyal Rinpoche. A book ‘to inspire the whole way we look at death and care for the dying and the whole way we look at life and care for the living.’ ‘Anam Cara’ John O’ Donoghue . Like the other two books, you want to read and read again. About secrets of the ancient Irish world, Irish prayers and blessings, a beautiful approach to spirituality.
Favourite music:	My favourite music, everything from Bruch’s violin concerto to Pink Floyd or Dire Straits. Andrea Boccelli to Rod Stewart.
Favourite song :	(One of many) Mystic Lipstick written by Jimmy McCarthy sung by Maura O’Connell.
Favourite film:	Schindler’s List, The Black Stallion, Lassie come home.
Favourite drink:	Antigua Smile, and it does make you smile! I can’t remember what is in it, which shows how good it is, I still remember it after a lot of years, which shows how good it is, I swam much better after it, which shows how good it is!! Does anybody have the recipe? Then we will have a lot of smiling, swimming people around Currane with bad memories including me!!
Best feeling in the world:	When I am ‘on roll’ with my writing.
Worst feeling in the world:	When I have a ‘dry’ period with my writing.
Which person would you most like to meet living or dead:	Grainne ni Mhaille, Pirate, sea queen, a very liberated lady!!
Any important plans/resolutions for the future:	To live in the moment.
Cleo is also well known as a poet and has kindly given us a copy one of her poems describing her feelings on her journey to Rwanda.	Kigali 1994 Steady drone of the aircraft Boring movie, Winding down at last From six weeks of adrenaline buzz. Half asleep with scattered thoughts Of what lies ahead, There is a feeling of release Of letting go Let it happen. Harry is restless, he prowls the aisles Then tucks a blanket around me, I am grateful for the contact. The night explodes into daybreak Ears bung up As we start our descent into the unknown. Below are little terraced hills and trees Misty and lush Not like the war zones on T.V. Noses pressed to windows, Excited voices, “Can you see” “There’s Kenyatta” “I need a pee”. So here we go, back-packed, labelled Documented, vaccinated, briefed But unprepared For 1994 Kigali. Note. Harry is a Bosnian refugee he drove one of the trucks.

Thanks Cleo for talking to us and good luck with your business venture.

Sinéad Ní Mháille – Sinead O’Malley (2001)

This interview took place in 2001:

Sinéad is truly a record breaker!
Never before have we had so many nominations for one person in such a short period of time.
Everyone felt that she deserved recognition for her academic and professional achievements.
We persuaded her to answer our questionnaire;

Name:	Sinéad O’ Malley in Currane but Sinéad Ní Mháille everywhere else! I spent a year in the Meath Gaeltacht when I was 16 and my name has been in Irish ever since.
Age:	24 going on 25 (some would say going on 45).
Family details/links with the area:	Born and raised in Currane.
Where do you live?	I’ve lived in Dublin for three years. At the moment I live in Fairview on the Northside with my brother and sister. Fairview is brilliant. It’s really close to the city centre but its close to Clontarf and Howth too.
Profession, past/present employment details:	I work as National Youth Officer for Fianna Fáil, which I love but which keeps me very busy. Before Fianna Fáil I did a Masters and before that I worked as Tourism Manager for Turasoireacht Acla.
What do you like about Currane?	I like the physical Currane – the fact that it’s right on the coastline; rugged, rocky places like Clochán and the feeling that you get when you pass by the pitch on the way in and you can see Achillbeg, Clare Island and Clochmor in front of you. I like the personal side to Currane too, the sense of community and familiarity between people. Currane has developed a great community spirit and it has resulted in things like the Centre, the pitch, the computer centre etc. I love coming home to my family in Currane.
How would you improve the area?	There isn’t a lot I would change. I’d like to see tourism better developed in Currane – small, cottage-industry type tourism; family B&B’s, small-scale walking tours, development of Currane’s natural amenities in a responsible and environmentally-sound way. For a small place there is a huge amount of history and story attached to it and it could easily be used to attract business and create jobs. People love places like Currane where they can get a sense of history and culture and feel like they are welcome in a small, familiar community.
Favourite place/view:	My favourite place, such as it is, is the sea. I love to be out in the boat or sitting at Clochán when the sea is a bit choppy and the sun is shining. I love Achillbeg and one of my favourite things is to go to the lighthouse with my father.
Favourite time of year:	Summer – no question! I hate cold, grey short days and I can’t wait for Summer.
Favourite story/folklore:	Anything about Irish mythology and anything about Granuaile.
Favourite saying:	Na bac le mac an mhacaigh is ni bacaigh mac an mhacaigh leat. (My Irish spellings not great!) It means ‘Mind your own business and others will mind theirs’.
Place you’ve most enjoyed traveling to (and why):	It doesn’t really qualify as travel since I lived there for three years, but my favourite place away from home is Portstewart in Derry. I lived there for my three years in college and it is one of the most beautiful places in Ireland. I have some great memories of college and Portstewart, particularly The Anchor Bar, plays a big part in them.
Favourite book:	I am big into reading whenever I get the chance. I’d read anything really but my favourites are mythology and fantasy fiction, things like Lord of the Rings, Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice (a very interesting take on creation and the story of God and the Devil), Windlord, Firelord and Earthlord by Michael Scott and the Harry Potter books. I also liked classics like Lorna Doone, Jude the Obscure, Pride and Prejudice and John O’ Donoghue’s book Anam Cara.
Favourite music:	All kinds of everything – James, Radiohead, Coldplay, Paddy Casey, dance music, Mary Black, Christy Moore, the Carpenters, etc, etc
Favourite song (Irish):	I don’t think I have a favourite song. I like traditional ballads, rebel songs. If I had to pick one I’d say Mo Ghile Mear.
Favourite film:	All the Star Wars films, The End of the Affair, Mary Poppins, The Matrix.
Favourite drink:	Vodka, white wine.
Favourite food:	Anything there’s lots of – Mexican, Indian, Achill Head curry chips etc.
Favourite type of night out in the area:	Anywhere with my family and cousins – we always have a great laugh.
What sports do you enjoy:	I don’t play any (I’m far too lazy) but I like watching football and hurling.
Which teams do you support:	Currane ladies, Mayo – the local teams. I have no interest in soccer.
Which person would you most like to meet living or dead:	Granuaile.
Any important plans/resolutions for the future:	I want to take over the world – no seriously I just want to get on with my job and find a bit more time for my friends and family

Thanks once again to Sinéad for taking the time to talk to us.
We’re sure everybody will join us in wishing her continued success in the future.

Patrick Francis Gallagher (2001)

This interview took place in 2001:

Name:	Patrick Francis Gallagher
Age:	45
Tell us a little about your family:	Father: Pat Mother: Winnie Brother: James Sister: Mary
Tell us a little about your employment history and professional life:	I am a vendor and van driver. Before that I ran The George for seven and a half years until 1988, and before that I drove all around the country making deliveries. I also did a bit of fishing.
What do you like about Currane?	The people and the scenery – which I think we sometimes take for granted. I particularly love the drive from Mulranny to Bollinglanna.
Is there anything you’d like to change about Currane?	I wouldn’t change a thing…well, except maybe the roads!
What is your favourite time of year?	I like the long warm days of the summer. I don’t like cold weather, but I’ve never been tempted to move somewhere warmer.
Have you traveled abroad?	Only to Northern Ireland! I slightly regret not having gone anywhere else – I’d like to visit Australia, Spain and the USA.
Do you have a favourite type of music?	I like most music, though I can’t play any instruments.
Favourite TV program:	Gillette Soccer Saturday
Favourite film:	Braveheart and Titanic
Favourite drink:	Coke
Favourite food:	Steak and chips
Favourite night out:	A good Table Quiz night – I’m too old for discos!
Are you involved in sport?	I’ve been the Manager of Achill Rovers Mens Junior team for seven years. I played for the team for many years and then, after a few years out, I was asked to become the Manager. I had to think about it for several seconds before saying yes!
What has been the highlight of your time as Manager?	Winning the Mayo League title in 1998. We missed it by 1 point in 1997 after leading for most of the season. We lost our second to last match, against Westport, and knew that we would miss out on the title. It was a huge disappointment for the whole team and it was very difficult to motivate ourselves for the following year. So to come back and win the title was a massive achievement.
What has been the worst moment in your time as Manager?	When we found out that we were not going to be allowed to defend our title in 1999. Mayo decided to set up a ‘super league’ and each team would have to have facilities like showers in the changing rooms, which we didn’t have. So we were demoted. It was heartbreaking.
What are your ambitions for the coming season?	We’ve made it back into the ‘super league’ – we’ll be playing at The Valley – and we’re looking for a top five position. We played Ballyglass, who were third last year, before Christmas and were drawing 4-4 after 90 minutes, so we are quite confident.
Favourite football team:	I’ve been a Middlesborough supporter for 30 years.
Which person/s would you most like to meet? (living or dead)?	Muhammed Ali and Alex Ferguson.
Is there anything about the structure of Mayo football that irritates you?	The Mayo League is reasonably well run, but midweek matches are a problem. Teams based in towns don’t have a problem as most of the players will be working in the town, but rural teams suffer because the players may be working several hours drive away. Often they can’t get back from work in time, or else they have to hurry too much which can be dangerous on our roads.
Hobbies:	I love playing pool. I represented Mayo and came within 3 points of playing for Ireland. I play with teams in Belmullet (McGuires) and Castlebar (Coach Bar).
Pet hate:	Bad driving, especially people who don’t dip their headlights.

John Mhikie (Gallagher) (2001)

This interview took place in 2001:

An extremely popular choice for person of the moment,
John answers our questions;

Name:	John Mhikie Gallagher
Age:	58
Tell us a little about your family:	Father: Mikie Mother: Mary Healy Four brothers: Michael, Eamon, Tommy, Patrick. Four sisters: Bridie, Ita, Annie, Kathy. * I was reared next-door to my father and mother by Aunt Maria who was married to Michael Madden – Gréasaí Antaine. * I am married to Mary Travers from Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal * We have three children – Mairéad, Sal, and Caitlíona
Tell us a little about your employment history and professional life:	* I was a Secondary School teacher and taught Irish, Geography, Art, Mechanical Drawing and French. * The schools I taught in were Dooniver, Coláiste Éine, Scoil Chuimsitheach Chíaráin í gCeathrú Rua, Scoil Dhamhnait, and Sacred Heart School Westport. * Worked in England at various jobs in the sixties: Meat factory, building sites, M1, M2, Dpt fourteen of Wimpeys, sold ice-cream in London as well. * Fished off rocks in Currane from Stoiricín to Dough Beg. Fished in Currach with different family members and neighbours. Had half-decked boat for 16 years – fished off Currane, Achill, and Clare Island.
What do you like about Currane?	Everything – ‘muid féin atá ann’
What is your favourite view in the area?	From the top of Cnoc na hAilte Móire near Lough Árd.
What is your favourite time of year?	Springtime, but I enjoy Summer growth and Autumn colours and Winter games of cards – solo and 25.
Favourite story/folklore:	Adventures of Ernest Shackelton and The Famous Lynchechaun.
Favourite saying (seanfhocal):	‘Níl ins an saol ach ceo Agus ní mhaireann an só ach seal is ní buan sioc soilseach na maidne Ach ar feadh tamall bíonn sé geal’ i.e. ‘Life is but a mist and good times don’t last long, and the sparkling morning frost is fleeting, but for a while it’s brightness is so strong’
Is there a place that you enjoyed travelling to?	Russia 1979: Moscow and Leningrad, the Museums, Hermitage, churches, Moscow circus etc. were all magnificent. Contrary to understanding at the time, the people I found very warm and welcoming.
Favourite book (Fiction):	The Day of the Jackal
Favourite book (Non-Fiction):	Anam Cara
Do you have a favourite type of music?	Traditional Irish Music and most music
Favourite song:	Shanagolden sung by Thomas Joyce.
Favourite Gaelic song:	Amhrán Mhaoinse sung by John Beag Ó’Flatharta
Favourite film:	One flew over the cuckoo’s nest
Favourite drink:	Smithwicks and at times a little ‘Gaelic coffee’ made from mountain dew.
Favourite food:	Bacon with cabbage, freshly caught mackerel and herring. I’m also partial to Chinese food.
Favourite night out:	In Currane in company of Conor Patten, Thomas Joyce, Pat O’Malley, Thomas O’Malley, Michael Joe Gallagher, John and Tommy Madden and Father Willie and if John Hoban came by.
Favourite sports:	Gaelic Football, Hurling and Soccer.
Favourite teams:	* Mayo God help us!, Galway Hurling team, Chelsea, Sligo Rovers
Which person/s would you most like to meet? (living or dead)?	Caiptín Máille Pattico, Caitlíona Mhór and David Attenborough
Any plans for the year ahead and the future?	Take a day at a time. Admire the odd fishing vessel, go to sea from day to day, enjoy and partake in music sessions. Have an odd refreshing drink and chat with lively company, play a few card games. – pause and pray and remember from time to time my wonderful friends and neighbours in Currane and elsewhere whose company and warmth I’ve enjoyed through all the years. Faoí Chumhdach Dé iad ar fad.

Many thanks to John for taking the time to talk to us.
We’re sure everybody will join us in wishing John a great year ahead.

Ann Mór RIP (Ann Masterson) (2000)

This interview took place in 2000:

One of the elders of our community, Ann Masterson (or Ann Mór as she is known), will be 91 on
St. Stephens Day.
The only survivor of 11 children, Ann remains active socially, has an impressive memory, and when it comes to
local news and events she is still very much on the ball.
We caught up with Ann after a day out in Mulranny and persuaded her to answer our questionnaire;

Name:	Ann Masterson (known as Ann Mór)
Favourite TV programs:	Wheel of fortune, the Six O’Clock News and Coronation Street
Favourite Coronation Street characters:	Vera and Jack, Curly
What is your favourite drink?	I take a small Baileys occasionally, but not often. I like juice, and tea of course, but I’m not keen on coffee at all.
What is your favourite food?	I like lamb chops, and of course the spuds. I don’t like bananas, pork, black pudding, sausages or rashers. I like tomatoes, but it’s so hard to get good ones. There used to be a nursery in Bunacurry that had lovely tomatoes.
What is your favourite book?	I used to read a lot of books, but I don’t any more. I like to read the Mayo News
Where were you born?	In Scotland – I’m a Scottie really! – but I came to Ireland when I was a baby. I went back to Scotland when I’d grown up and stayed for many years, mainly in Edinburgh. I worked in hotels, a hospital, and on the railway. I used to clean the carriages when the trains came in, and we made the beds on the sleeper trains – it was great craic! Oh but the football fans, when they came in, what a mess they made!
What social event have you enjoyed recently?	My 90th birthday last year. I went to the compass to play whist, as usual. There were an awful lot of cars there, but I had no idea what was going on – someone said there must be a big prize. As soon as I went in the door they all started singing happy birthday! I was so shocked, and Michael Ruddy was laughing his head off! What a lovely evening – people had come from all over, even some relatives from Preston.
Do you socialise a lot?	I go to Mulranny on a Tuesday and we have lunch, then we are taken to Daly’s for some shopping. I play whist every Wednesday night at the Compass. We used to go to Glór na dTonn on a Wednesday for day care and we had lunch, but the FAS scheme has ended so there’s no-one to do it any more.
Is there anywhere you would like to visit again?	Not really, though I wouldn’t mind going back to Edinburgh.
Are there any changes you would like to see in Currane?	More employment
Favourite football team?	Man Utd and Celtic, especially when I was in Scotland – they had a great team then.