Brian Mac D's photostream  

Some of my earliest memories are from around the time I was 5 years old, visiting my Great Grandmother in her terraced cottage in Knockboy, Ballygunner, County Waterford. I spent the first 5 years of my life in Tramore, not too far away. My Waterford roots are on my mother's side. I remember being told stories in small rooms adorned with religious pictures. The main room had a number of ornaments and a gramophone. My Great Grandmother was a warm earthy woman and wore a practical blue apron over her dress. The village was a great community by all accounts. Because the land was valuable it was decided by the council that the village was to be knocked and so it was in the late 1980s. At that stage my Great Grandmother was dead a few years and my Grand Uncle looked after the old house. Despite his and my Aunt's efforts to stop the demolition of the village it went ahead. My two brothers and I were very close to my grandmother who lived in the city. Her love, hospitality and homeliness, along with our Grandfather and their dog Sandy played a huge part in our childhood and provided us with very happy memories. I was always drawn to such an atmosphere of homeliness aided by the presence of fascinating things that seemed slightly out of date but a great source of wonder for a child. Years later after working as an archaeologist for many years and pursuing photography as a hobby, I came across a house that was frozen in time, a place that, to me, still retained a welcoming homely atmosphere. I responded to this house naturally; my approach a combination of my job, my hobby and my respect for those who had lived there. Since then I have been instinctively drawn to such places, and when I have the time I will pull in off the road to investigate buildings that look forgotten and in need of my attention. Inside I often get to know the former occupants through what is left behind.

I have had the opportunity to explore most parts of Ireland through constantly moving around with my job over the last 10 years. I have lived and worked in 14 of the 36 counties of the Island of Ireland, but I am now based in Cork full time. I make the effort to get away when I can.