Aine Art,Killashee

On Saturday I attended the new weekly Butter Market in Granard. I was interested to find out the History of this lovely space and here it is. The Butter and Egg Market was erected in Market Street beside the Ulster Bank in Granard. Granard was always a Market town and indeed was at the height of its commercial strength when the Market was opened.It was chiefly of agricultural products from the hinterland coming into town.It was on a small and local scale.Farms were still mixed and family run and farmers brought their surplus to town for sale.They set up stalls within the building and sold their wares.Each butter producer/farmer had his own identification seal and this was his mark of quality, a standard he was compelled to maintain.The names and the locations of the then officials who administered the Butter Market towards the end of The Second World War are in the archives.It was food shortages of that time and the food rationing that followed into the early fifties that dealth a de...

Its no secret that I love horses.I was raised on a Stud Farm in Co.Meath where my Dad was Stud Groom. As children we loved to hide in barns or lofts,build make believe houses out of bales of hay. We spent many hours running around fields after wayward ponies and when caught and mounted, bucked us off immediately but we didnt give up our mission.My Dad was in charge of the racehorses and that was a very serious business. We were not allowed in to the racing yard for safety reasons as racehorses are highly charged and unpredictable.Racehorse breeding has been and is a highly commercialized venture, some pure breeds can sell for a fortune.The horses with the greatest speed and stamina command the highest prices.Breeders carefully select the horses that win most consistently and are top of their class from which to breed future generations of potential record breakers.Race days are hugh events for owners and breeders often worth a great deal of money to both, and participating horses are ...

With a name like Doohan you would be right to think I had connections to Donegal. Donegal is in my blood and I like to return there as often as possible.The paintings for this blog were mainly done in the Glencolmkille area.Glencolmcille named after St.Columba is in the middle of the Gaeltacht region of South Donegal. Situated by a fine sandy beach at the end of a lush fertile glen,this delightfull folk museum is set in a group of small farmhouses and barns.Among its exhibits is a replica of a National School and more intriguingly, a shebeen where locally brewed and untaxed liquor was sold,away from the eyes of the revenue men.Donegal had great hiding places only known to the hardy locals.I would now like to treat you to a couple of verses of The Homes of Donegal made famous by our own Daniel O Donnell. Ive just dropped in to see you all I will only stay awhile I want to hear how you are getting on I want to see you smile I am happy to be back again And greet you big and small For...

Ah sure you cant beat it a day in the bog was my fathers refrain, all that fresh air and hard work sure its mighty altogether, we children did not think so and had mixed feelings about going to the bog.Although May was the preferred month for turf cutting,there was plenty of work to be done in June.The turf was cut manually . It took longer to dry for two reasons,firstly it wasnt pressed so held more moisture.Secondly the sods were bigger than machine cut so took longer to dry.After being cut they were drawn out in barrows. They were then left drying on the ground. Our family spent many hours back bending to spread out the sods.After a time the turf was footed.The traditional method was to balance sods against one another until each grogeen contained around a dozen pieces.The other method was box footing,this involved laying two sods flat and then putting pairs on top of them at right angles until there were twelve or fourteen sods in the grogeen. Opinions differed as to which was...

Just arrived from a lovely week in Sligo. Sligo enchanted me. A place steeped in mythology and history. It has a great tradition in music,art,poetry as expressed by its people.From lakes, rivers, the sea,and dramatic landscapes inspire story telling,playing of music and painting of pictures to open the mind and invigorate the body. Sligo boasts magnificent link courses along the Atlantic seaboard, and parklands and fairways with unspoilt views of the beautifull county. From water sports,seaweed baths, horseriding and leisurely fishing the county has plenty to offer.Catch the waves at Strandhill, Easkey, or Enniscrone perfect for the surfer, or swimmer. Set up the easel and start painting you wont be dissappointed. Looking forward to my next trip to beautifull Sligo.You can message me on Facebook,Aine Art,Killashee.