Initially I had planned to head down to New Quay today and attempt to find walls around the area that were built during the famine to divide up the surrounding land. However, as I was passing through Bellharbour I remembered that I had been recommended to talk to somebody who lived next door to the local pub, Daly's. It appeared that nobody was home when I first called, but while I was in the area I thought I would take a look at my notebook to see if there was anybody else n

As I am planning on bringing my bike to Kilfenora on Thursday, I looked up how long it would take to cycle there from Carron. On doing so, I discovered that it was home to a mini-supermarket. As the distance to the Kilfenora is less than that to Ballyvaughan, as well as the journey being flatter overall, on Sunday I tested out doing the weekly shop there. The cycle was comparatively pleasant, introducing me to an even more expansive side of the Burren. As there are less hills

Today didn't get off to the start that I had been hoping for. I had originally planned to cycle around the area, calling into various people who had been recommended to me, as well as visiting the famine road in Poulaphuca for a second time. However, as I was leaving the research facility my bike began making strange noises every time I put pressure on the pedals. I presumed that this was due to the fact that I had overtightened the back brakes last night, so I brought the bi

Before cycling down to New Quay for my second interview of the week, I decided to take the bike for a small ride around Carron. This was partly just to make sure that everything was running smoothly, but also so that I could call into another person that I had been recommended to talk to. Again, I wasn't certain of the exact address but I had been told that this person lived in a small cottage just outside of the village, and that if I came across the Michael Cusack Centre th

After yesterday's incident I was slightly cautious about taking my bike for a run, especially as I will require it to travel to New Quay tomorrow for another interview. Instead I decided to walk to the Glen of Clab, as I had been given the name of a person who lives around the area that might be able to help me further with my research. It was a short enough walk, just passed the Burren Perfumery en route to Slieve Carran. The glen itself has the appearance of a small oasis,

Today I was able to conduct my first 'interview' of the trip, with the owner of a B&B just outside Ballyvaughan. I put 'interview' in apostrophes because the format is more like an informal conversation that just so happens to be recorded. I do my best to make this clear from the very beginning, just to put the other person at ease. People tend to act a certain way when they are being interviewed, they can become more rigid and their responses tend to very carefully thought o

The last couple of days have been slightly mundane and focused more on rest and practical chores, so much so that I felt they didn't warrant a separate blog post each. As this will most likely be the case every weekend, I will only be posting blogs from Tuesday-Saturday for the remainder of this field trip. Not for the first time since my arrival here, I have been thinking about how much easier this project would be if I were able to drive a car. What should be incredibly sim

To finish off the week, I thought I would try to find the remaining two people that I had been advised to talk to about my project. The first man was the owner of a B&B just outside Ballyvaughan, and the second lived in Kinvara, Co. Galway. I had always been meaning to go to Kinvara at some point anyway, as I had been informed by multiple people that it was easier to cycle there for my weekly shop than it was to cycle to Ballyvaughan. I travelled to Ballyvaughan first, picked

As I have mentioned previously, oral history plays a huge role in my research. I partly converse with locals about their knowledge of the famine just so that I can locate the whereabouts of famine constructions that I am hoping to photograph. However, I also do this so I can observe their sometimes lack of knowledge on the subject. So far, the latter has been much more prevalent. I began today with the names of three people who could possibly aid me with my research, two men

The goal for today was to explore the site of a village in Oughtmama, which supposedly could have been deserted during the time of the famine. Following the map that I had acquired from the tourist office in Ballyvaughan, I made my way down towards Bellharbour. According to the map, I needed to continue passed the Bellharbour turn-off, head on in the direction of Kinvara, and take a right up a marked trail after a kilometre or two. This right turn alluded me (as can be seen f