The following is an extract from The Ireland Of The Welcomes Magazine, the official magazine of the Irish Tourist Board.

Francis Loughlin, a second generation Irishman, was born in Lancashire, England in 1946. He is a professional photographer, whose work has achieved many accolades over thirty years. It is Ireland, however, and Connemara in particular that is the focus of some of his most powerful and exciting images.

Francis first visited Ireland as a child back in the 1950s but didn’t return until the mid 1980s when a work colleague recommended a visit to Connemara.

Connemara on the west coast of Ireland in County Galway is an area of outstanding natural beauty. It boasts a breathtaking coastline with white sandy beaches that contrast against an imposing backdrop of mountain ranges. After travelling through many acres of bog and heathland it is not long before you arrive at one of the small fishing villages, where you can sample the catch of the day and listen to traditional music whilst enjoying a pint of slowly poured Guinness.

The family spent their holiday in a traditional Connemara home where the turf fired range would keep them warm on some of the ‘soft’, rainy days. Despite its beauty, Connemara was a culture shock for a family from a relatively built up area of Northern England. At that time, many people had only two TV channels and the nearest neighbour was at least four hundred yards away. People were friendly, doors were always open and the local bar, church and shop, as now, were at the heart of community life. A far cry from the fast paced, hustle and bustle back in the UK.
Photograph Francis Loughlin
The Loughlin family were so taken by the Connemara lifestyle that after some years of searching, they found their “little grey house in the west”, when they were introduced to a local couple who wished to sell their old stone cottage by the sea.
The previous owner of the cottage had been a native of Inish Turk, an island approximately one mile off the mainland. Before he married, this big man with huge weathered hands from years of manual work, would row his currach from Inish Turk and back over to the mainland to see his future wife.

There are a number of islands dotted off the coast of Connemara. Many were once populated but now, with the exception of Inishbofin, one of the larger islands, there are only a few people remaining on them. These islands are now home to an abundance of seabirds, seals and often dolphins.

Francis and Adrienne’s cottage looks out over Omey Island, a tidal island that once was home to over four hundred people. Today only a handful of residents remain. As it is tidal, Omey is only accessible via a half-mile stretch of sand for a few hours each day. This stretch of sand, known as Omey Strand, hosts a spectacular horse race each summer at low tide. People gather to watch the jockeys and horses, thunder across the sand. Photograph Francis Loughlin

Three miles from the cottage is the tiny fishing village of Cleggan. The ferry to Inishbofin, the largest and most populated of the local islands sails from Cleggan harbour. It is only a short journey to Inishbofin from Cleggan and Francis and Adrienne have made the trip many times, on each occasion making new acquaintances.