A new painting: Gougane Barra If you've never been to Gougane Barre you must go there the next time you visit Ireland.
I just finished this big painting (4 feet wide) of the haunting national forest there, something straight out of a fairy legend. Your eyes can play tricks on you here,
and you can get lost in it. The little stream that flows thru the mossy forest feeds into Gougane Lake and is the headwaters of
the River Lee, Cork's sacred river. St. Finbar's chapel sits on the tiny island
in the middle of the lake alongside the ruins of the 17th century
stone monastery with it's monk's cells and Stations of the Cross which was built on the site of Finbar's original sixth century monastery. All this history is set in a gorgeous bowl of mountains west of Macroom in County Cork. Gougane Barra as spiritual an experience as Ireland has to offer.
By the way, across the water from the
chapel is the Gougane Barra Hotel, our No. 1 favorite place to stay in
all of Ireland.
Speaking of fairy legends, look what I found sitting next to the painting the morning after I hung it.
