This short page adds a few details about the old farmhouse on Slea Head Drive in Fahan, near Ventry on the Dingle Peninsula. For the full account of the building and its surroundings, begin at the home page.
A place that attracted visitors
Before it was left empty, the cottage had been home to a series of people drawn to the area. Some wanted a plainer way of life. Others, including photographers and writers, came looking for inspiration in the house and the land around it. Seeing it in good weather, you can sense the sadness of families like the Kavanaghs, who left the view behind for the emigration ships. On a bitter winter evening, by contrast, the reasons for leaving seem obvious, because a living was so hard to earn on this slope.
What opening the house revealed
Once the cottage began to receive visitors, more of its everyday history came to light, especially the ways people judged the weather, which shaped almost everything about their work.
- Sea birds as a warning. A cormorant flying high above the mountain, instead of low over the water, told the neighbours that bad weather was approaching.
- Distant houses. If homes across the bay on the opposite peninsula could be seen clearly, cold, windy weather was expected.
- The sun as a clock. When the sun stood over a particular nearby fort, as viewed from the cottage, it was midday for most of the year.
Taken together, these habits show how closely a household on this coast watched the landscape. There was no need for instruments when the cliffs, the bay and the birds supplied the information.