Below is a selection of articles from our February 2012 issue. Please download a full issue in PDF format for much, much more including Lifestyle, Home & Gardens, Sport and Entertainment.

Bantry House chosen as location for fashion film

The second in the trilogy of Dais films ‘Dais II’ was filmed at Bantry House in West Cork. The stylised short films, which were created to highlight the best in Irish fashion, have been acclaimed by the Irish design and fashion industry.

‘Off the Rails’ presenter Sonya Lennon traveled to Bantry to work on Dais II, where she teamed up with Swiss-Irish filmmaker and fashion photographer Christian Ammann. Christian, who grew up in Bantry, says the reason that Bantry House was chosen as the location was “because it would convey the story of our character and enhance our film with visual beauty”.

“Bantry house is in my eyes the most stunning house in Ireland. It has such beautiful unique rooms and the steps at the rear of the house, with its views, is one of the most spectacular in the world. I also have a bond with it, as I grew up in Bantry and know it since I was a child. It helped to give our story a mystic twist and also corresponded well with the designs and looks we were creating.

After studying photography in Zurich, Christian founded his own company in 1996. Working internationally, he has established a name for himself in the field of fashion, shooting for clients in both the editorial and advertising sector.

Bantry girl inspires with fighting spirit

Like any typical 11-year-old girl, Rene Murnane Hayes from Bantry loves Justin Bieber and Jedward. She enjoys reading and socialising with her friends, is fiercely independent and hungry for knowledge. This vivacious young girl, who has wanted to be a teacher for as long as her parents can remember, is also fighting a battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). Rene’s dad Brendan speaks to Mary O’Brien about Rene’s treatment, the positive prognosis for her illness and the amazing support that his family has received since her diagnosis.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a form of leukemia, or cancer of the white blood cells. Rene was diagnosed with ALL on November 21, 2011. Although she is quite ill at present and faces a long hard journey to recovery, the prognosis for her illness is very positive.

Rene is currently receiving treatment in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin and the Mercy Hospital's Leukaemia Unit in Cork. It’s anticipated that her treatment will continue for the next two-and-a half years.

“Rene’s defence systems have been completely wiped out by the chemotherapy treatment so she is prone to many different infections,” explains Brendan. “She currently has a very bad gastric problem, which means that she can’t even keep down water. The first six months of treatment is very intensive and Rene is undergoing invasive chemotherapy five times a week. The other side effects she has experienced include mood swings, hair loss, vomiting and her mobility has also been affected.”

According to Brendan, Rene is very accepting and knowledgeable of her illness. “She knows the names of the medications and all the health professionals working with her, the different blood groups and what they do, that platelets are responsible for clotting in the body, that the red cells are responsible for transporting oxygen around her body. She has taken all of this on board and will remind you of something if you forget it. It’s a huge part of her life now and will be so for the next few years.”

“She did ask me at one stage was she going to die,” says Brendan “and I said absolutely not. The doctors are confident that they can get rid of this cancer and that it will stay away. There are times when Rene is completely wiped out by the treatment and I ask her if she’s worried about anything. Her answer is always no. She has never explored the concept of death again and is confident that she will get better.”

Rene’s first symptom of her illness was extreme tiredness and lethargy. “It was strange for her,” recalls Brendan. “She is normally so vibrant and busy, you usually hear Rene before you see her. On the second week her throat started to swell and the doctors thought she had mumps.” When Rene was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, Brendan recalls feeling complete disbelief at hearing the word Leukaemia. “Rene’s mother Amanda was at work and I didn’t know how I was going to tell her. She was so strong on hearing the diagnosis and has been since. And every step of this long journey has been made that bit easier by the incredible support we’ve received from so many people.”

Rene is daughter to Brendan and Amanda and has two younger siblings, Clarice (10) and Michael (8). Although life has been turned upside-down for the whole family, the support shown them by family, friends and their entire community has been wonderful and they are humbled by it. “You can’t plan ahead, you don’t know what to do — it’s a huge shock to the system,” says Brendan.

Brendan and Amanda are both off work and on the road every day. “As parents you just adapt to it and it helps so much having people rally to support you. Thankfully Michael and Clarisse are very mature children. They know Rene is very sick but that she will get better. They know mom and dad are going to be busy with Rene for quite a while and they are very accepting of that.”

Friends of the family have set up a fundraising committee with the purpose of ensuring that Rene will be in a position to focus on and achieve a full recovery. The fundraising committee has planned a number of fundraising events for the weeks and months ahead and any support at these events is greatly appreciated.

If you wish to donate to this very worthwhile cause, donations will be accepted at any Bank of Ireland Branch using the following account details; Account Name: Rene Murnane Hayes Fund, Sort Code: 90-26-02, Current A/C No: 93686506.

Donations will also be accepted at the following Credit Unions in West Cork: Bantry Credit Union – A/C No: 16377Q; Dunmanway Credit Union – A/C No: 6218N.

If you wish to support the Rene Murnane Hayes Fund in any way, please email: renemurnanehayes@gmail.com or call 086-2705694. You can also follow on Facebook and/or Twitter where you will be updated on Rene’s condition and all aspects of the fundraising campaign.

A local hero

One hundred years ago West Cork man and Antarctic explorer Patrick (Patsy) Keohane from Barry’s Point, Courtmacsherry reached Scott’s Hut on the North shore of Cape Evans on Ross Island in Antarctica. In August 2012, to commemorate the centenary of his valuable contribution to Antarctic exploration, a bronze statute of Patrick Keohane will be unveiled close to where he was born and where he took his first steps near Barry's Point. John B. Murphy retraces the steps of this great explorer.

Patrick Keohane was a member of the second support group assisting Scott on his ill-fated 'Terra Nova Expedition' to reach the South Pole. On December 22, 1911 at glacier summit, 85º 15', Keohane's group was ordered to return to Cape Evans while Scott continued on his quest.

The arduous trek back to Hut Point took thirty-six days and proved hazardous enough for the thirty-three old Royal Navy officer from Barry's Point in Courtmacsherry. Eight times in twenty-five minutes Keohane courted death when he fell down crevasses exhausting the full length of his roped harness. Apart from looking a 'bit dazed' having survived his "much to be avoided record" Patrick arrived back at Hut Point on January 26, 1912.

Crevasses — visible, and more often invisible, deep cracks in the ice floor —have always caused danger for explorers and scientists traversing polar regions. As recent as 1993, Jostein Helgestad was killed in a fall into a crevasse. He was a member of a Norwegian Expedition group that set out to find the tent used by Amundsen's victorious South Pole team and bring it back to be displayed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway.

Born near Barry's Point in 1879, Patrick’s adventurous nature and love of the sea lead him to join the Royal Navy in his mid-teens. His commitment and abilities were rewarded when he was promoted to the rank of petty officer (the equivalent of sergeant in the army). He served on HMS Talbot with Edward Evans who further acknowledged his prowess as a sailor and selected Keohane to participate in the Scott's Terra Nova Expedition 1910-1913.

On March 26, 1912, Keohane and senior naval officer in charge at Cape Evans, Edward L. Atkinson, made a courageous attempt to search for and rescue Scott and his men. They set off from Hut Point in minus 40 degree temperatures, for the One Ton Supply depot, man-hauling a sledge with enough provisions for 18 days. The intense cold winter weather made it impossible to trek further south than Corner Camp where they left enough provisions for a week and returned to Cape Evans despondent and heavy-hearted.

After the dark Antarctic winter —March to September — had passed, the West Cork adventurer joined the group who went on the poignant journey to retrieve the bodies of Scott and those who had died with him.

After returning to Wales aboard the Terra Nova in June 1913, Keohane came home to Ireland and got married. In1915 his daughter was born and named Nova after the Expedition. That year on May 7, the Lusitania was sunk eleven miles off the Old Head of Kinsale killing 1,198 with 764 lives saved. Patrick's Father, Tim Keohane, was one of the lifeboat men that rowed from Barry's Point to help in the rescue.

During World War 1 Patrick continued to served in the Royal Navy. Following the war he joined the Coast Guard where his duties took him to Ireland, Devon, Cornwall and eventually the Isle of Man. He rejoined the Royal Navy during World War Two and took charge of sailor training on the Isle of Man. When the war ended, he returned to Plymouth where he had first joined the navy. He lived there until his death in 1950 aged 71. On display in the Plymouth City Museum is a photograph album belonging to Keohane, containing 28 historic photographs of the Terra Nova Exhibition.

At his funeral in 1950 a fellow polar team member, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, said of him. "He was a man who wanted to see what was on the other side of the hill- and he saw!”

West Cork rugby star in Ireland’s starting line-up

The Irish Women’s team play Wales in their opening game of the RBS Women's Six Nations Rugby Championship at Ashbourne RFC this Friday, February 3. Clonakilty’s Laura Guest, 26, will start as forward in the back row. Laura speaks to Mary O’Brien about the Irish team’s aims in the upcoming Six Nations.

“We can’t wait for Friday,” she says “to play and to beat Wales”. With 17 caps for Ireland under her belt, Laura is one of the more experienced players on the starting 15. “We had a horrible game against them last year. We played poorly on the day and were beaten by two points. This year will be different — we’re all very excited and can’t wait to get going.”

Neither team has played a game since the last Six Nations, which levels the playing field. And, with good results at Ashbourne RFC in recent years — the Irish side has been beaten there only once — Laura is confident that the venue will work in their favour for the home clashes with Wales, Italy and Scotland. “It’s a great venue and always a brilliant atmosphere. I think it’s probably worth nearly 10 points to us in every game,” she says.

Laura’s sporting career started with Clonakilty RFC. She moved to Shannon and UL Bohemians while studying in UL. When she began working as a secondary school teacher at Midleton College she moved to Highfield. She has played in two World Cups.

The secondary school teacher says the minimum the Irish team hopes to achieve in this year’s Six Nations is winning their three home games. “We won’t accept anything less than three wins at home.”

Although the England and France games will probably pose the toughest challenge, Laura says that anything is possible. “They’re both very experienced teams but we’re looking forward to rattling France and maybe even pulling off a win. Hopefully we’ll give England a scare as well.

“We’ve beaten France at home and we could have won the game against them last year. It could go either way. England will be one of the best games of the year. They play hard but fair and it will be a difficult and fast paced game. We’re still trying to beat them and maybe this year we will!”

With the IRB recently confirming that the 2012 and 2013 Six Nations Championships will play a defining role in the path to the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup, there will also be added pressure on Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy with England and France already qualified. “We have to qualify at least third this year and next to qualify for the World Cup,” concedes Laura. “Italy are an improving side every year but we feel that we are better players. Even though I feel we’re a stronger side than the Scots, you can never underestimate them.”

Laura believes that one of the main strengths of the Irish team is that they are all very good technical players, “We all have a good understanding of the game and hopefully all our work will pay off.”

Although Laura has been playing provincially for Munster since she was 17 and for Ireland since she was 18, she admits that she was really nervous during this year’s team selection. “I had the added pressure that most people would expect me to be starting, but my form was up and down at the camps in January, so I was nervous,” she explains.

Although nerves might hit occasionally, Laura’s passion for the sport means she always aims high. “Id like to continue being a starter for Ireland in the next few years and play a full World Cup in 2014.”

Laura credits her parents, Raymond and Bridget for a lot of her success, “I wouldn't have got this far without their support, driving me around the country in my younger years and now travelling everywhere to support me.”

There is no doubt this talented young rugby player will make her parents and West Cork proud this weekend.

Colm raises awareness for autism with UN stamp design

The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) will issue stamps and first day covers on April 2, 2012 in recognition of World Autism Day. The stamps and the artists who designed them, will together raise awareness about this important global cause.

Eight designs from artists all over the world have been chosen. Colm Isherwood from Cork is one of these talented artists. Colm has enjoyed working with a variety of media for many years, most recently concentrating on painting. Colm uses a variety of techniques to create the texture in his sensory and tactile paintings. From layering paint to dripping it, using his hands or objects such as balloons and piping bags, Colm has a great sense for colour.

Colm and his twin brother, Eric both have severe autism — they have no speech and cannot read or write. They have been influenced greatly by their mentor/teacher Aine Crowley.

Autistic children and adults have a lot of energy and Colm, age 25, uses painting to channel his energy. According to his dad, Eric Isherwood, Colm might change his clothing two or three times in a day and art really helps him to relax. “We use a picture system to communicate with the boys, the frustrating part is that they can’t communicate back.”

In the early nineties, both Colm and Eric attended the Boston Higashi School, an International programme serving children and young adults with autism, where art plays a large part. “It cost 100,000 pounds a year for each of them at the time and it was only through the generosity of the Irish public that they were able to go. I feel this is Colm’s way of thanking everyone,” says Eric.

“It was an extremely difficult and challenging process to choose only eight designs from all the artwork submitted,” commented Creative Director, Ms Rorie Katz. “All of us were personally touched by the stories of the artists and their families who are extremely passionate and supportive about raising awareness for Autism.”
To purchase these stamps when they go on sale on April 2, visit http://unstamps.un.org.

‘Open Door’ to jumpstart arts and health activities in West Cork community

In partnership with West Cork Arts Centre and Music Alive, West Cork Mental Health Services is planning an exciting participative-based music project titled ‘The Open Door’. This project will commence on Thursday, February 23, 2012 in the West Cork Arts Centre and continue every Thursday in March from 7 to 8pm. Musicians Kevin O Shanahan and Maurice Foley will facilitate music groups that are open to all ages and all members of the community.

In November 2011, psychiatric nurse Kevin O’Shanahan, was appointed by the West Cork Mental Health Services as an Arts and Mental Health Co-ordinator to investigate the potential for developing arts and health activities in the wider West Cork community. Michael Bambrick, Director of Nursing with West Cork Mental Health Services, speaking on Kevin’s appointment, commented, “We welcome this new position. Mental health is more than an illness. We all have different resources to express our mental well being This position will give an opportunity for individuals to recognise and develop the creative sides of their personality and wellbeing and the West Cork Mental Health Services is delighted to be associated with this new position, which will initially be for a pilot period of one year”.

One aspect of this job will be to develop partnerships between West Cork Mental Health Services and other community groups and services, such as ‘The Open Door’ project.

The Open Door is inspired by the well known West Cork tradition of scoraíochting where people gathered in neighbours’ houses to listen, sing, play music and dance and tell stories.

No musical experience or particular ability on an instrument is required. Kevin is a percussionist and bodhrán player with many years experience facilitating music in community contexts and has a special interest in folk music from around the world. Maurice is a well-known accordion player and singer, living in Ballingeary and also plays guitar and bouzouki.

“I’ve seen the therapeutic effect that music can have on people,” says Kevin. “ A few years ago, I facilitated a music group for teenage serial offenders. To my surprise, their behaviour changed — they became less aggressive, more engaging and calmer people. They told me that they slept better at nights since joining the group.” Kevin also worked with the Simon Community in Cork. “I got involved with recording an album with a man who lived on the streets. Today, he’s no longer homeless. That’s quite a dramatic example, but on a day-to-day basis, my experience working with patients in the mental health service, shows that music, even if it’s just singing a song, reveals a completely different side to patients. “

The use of the arts in health and community settings has grown in Ireland over the last decade. In 2005, Cork was selected as the European Capital of Culture and instigated an arts and health programme in 32 different health care settings throughout Cork City and County. Since that time there has been a noticeable increase in the number of arts and health projects both throughout Cork County and nationwide. One of the guiding principles underpinning participative arts and health practice is that the opportunity for engagement with the arts and self-expression through the arts should be accessible to all people who wish to have the opportunity.

The use of the arts to encourage discussion about positive mental health has been highlighted by two innovative festivals in recent years, namely ‘The First Fortnight’ festival which takes place in Temple Bar in Dublin in January and the very successful ‘Mad Pride’ festival in May, which attracted large numbers last year to its events in Cork city and Ballydehob. West Cork Mental Health Services has also been active in developing an arts and health programme in recent years and many arts projects have been instigated by well-known arts facilitator Eleanor Ni Drisceoill.

So if you would like to listen to or play music with others, for an evening of relaxed music making and stories, or simply to drop in for a cup of tea and to listen to some music, then contact the West Cork Arts Centre at (028) 22090 for more information or to book a place.

This project has been developed by West Cork Mental Health Services as a community initiative and participation is free of charge. For more information on Arts and Mental Health, contact Kevin.OShanahan@hse.ie or at 086 7872481. The Open Door Music groups will take place between 7-8pm in The West Cork Arts Centre, commencing on Thursday, February 23 and running throughout March on Thursday 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29.

Cover yourself with all the facts
By Tim Coffey

An awful lot has been written and spoken about the importance of getting cover to protect you from some of life’s less predictable events, including accidents, illnesses, injuries and death. Life Insurance, Income Protection and Mortgage Protection are some of the most important forms of cover you can get. Not only will they help protect your lifestyle and that of your loved ones if things go wrong, but they also come with the added benefit of peace of mind.

So, once you've spoken to your financial adviser, chosen the cover you were looking for and sign on the bottom line — it's all too easy to sit back and think that there's nothing more for you to do except enjoy complete peace of mind. But if you want real peace of mind, then you and your adviser need to regularly review your cover to ensure that it continues to keep up with your lifestyle needs. That's because your circumstances and the demands of your lifestyle can change pretty dramatically over time, and it's extremely important that your protection policies reflect those changes.

Indexing your benefits is one way of keeping pace with the changing times. Inflation means that the cost of living tends to rise year on year. On average, it's not unusual for the cost of living to rise 3 per cent per annum over 10 years — that's over 30 per cent of an increase in a decade. If your protection benefits were not indexed and you had to make a claim you could find yourself struggling to make ends meet, even though you thought you had everything covered. To counter this you should make sure that your protection benefits are indexed in line with inflation.

Under-insurance is another area that you really do need to watch out for. You might take out cover to suit your income, financial commitments and family circumstances at a point in time, with perhaps a little bit of extra cover added on to cover inflation and any short-term changes in your circumstances. But what happens, if say, you are promoted or move to a more senior position in another company or organisation? With more income you might take on greater financial commitments and your lifestyle needs may be greater. This is all good news, but unless you pay attention to your protection policies you could be undermining the security of your lifestyle and your loved ones.

One of the dominant issues in the protection market at the moment is trying to get clients the best value for their spend on protection. The first issue here is that many people out there with existing cover in place may be able to reduce the cost of their cover, or get more cover for the same price by speaking to a financial broker. A broker’s role is to do a fair analysis of products on the market and give advice accordingly. So if there’s a better deal to be got, the broker should point you in the right direction.

Competition in the market, with many life companies hungry for market share, is continually driving down the price of certain types of cover so it’s possible that the cover you put in place a few years back is no longer priced competitively.

Another cost saving issue is ensuring clients are making full use of all tax relief incentives on protection cover where appropriate. Certain types of cover attract income tax relief and all too often clients have not been advised of all of these options. Obviously by switching clients to cover with tax relief this can greatly reduce their net cost.

Advising on the most appropriate type of protection cover is another issue that’s hugely important. Between Serious/Critical Illness Cover, Personal Accident Cover, Payment Protection Cover and Income Protection Cover, consumers understandably get hugely confused. People have different sets of needs and requirements depending on their stage of life and personal circumstances. Too often I meet people, when on completing our review of existing cover, that I find don’t have the correct type of cover in place for their needs. Often we can provide this cover at a reduced cost from what they are currently paying.

The best way to avoid unfortunate scenarios like these is to stay in regular contact with a trusted financial adviser and keep them up-to-date with any changes in your circumstances. Your adviser will assess your current financial situation and, in consultation with you, determine exactly what your protection needs are. Once you have suitable policies in place, it's simply a matter of keeping in touch and keeping your adviser informed.

You could set up an annual financial review, to cover your existing arrangements and to see if there are any products or services, which could give you better peace of mind or save you money. As you can see, there's a lot more to protecting your lifestyle and loved ones than simply signing on the dotted line and then leaving the policy to gather dust in a drawer.

Tim Coffey B.Comm QFA. is an Independent Financial Adviser based in Harte's Courtyard, Clonakilty, Tel: 023-8859888.


‘Bantry 2012 Atlantic Challenge’ launched

The ‘Bantry 2012 Atlantic Challenge’ was officially launched on January 27, 2012 by Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine. This year the event takes place in Bantry from July 21 to 29.

Cork City Lord Mayor Mr Terry Shannon formally welcomed the guests to the City of Cork and Deputy County Mayor Declan Hurley asked for a minute’s silence for those who died in the Glandore trawler tragedy.

Minister Coveney, in his opening remarks, expressed his sympathy and support to the bereaved families of the Tit Bonhomme. He was overwhelmed by the response to the local community in the face of this tragedy. In launching the event, he spoke of the historic links, which Bantry has to the competition, the magnificent natural venue in which this event would be taking place, the positive benefits, which the competition will bring to the area and also the positive coverage, which the area and the country will receive from natural and International media. Minister Coveney spoke of the importance of utilising our natural resources, especially our fabulous coastline, with excellent harbours and islands. Marine leisure related tourism is only in its infancy and areas such as Bantry can grow this sector significantly in the years ahead. Events like the Atlantic Challenge, the Tall Ships and Volvo Ocean Race have put Ireland in front of a huge International audience. A keen sailor himself, Mr Coveney remarked that he was envious of the crew, as he would love to be taking part.

Diarmuid Murphy, Bantry Harbour Board member and chairman ‘Bantry 2012’ spoke of the history of the ‘Bantry Bay Gig’ up to its present day, the International Contest of Seamanship and what its core teaching experience gives to participants. The event started in 1986 between two countries, USA and France, under the shadow of the Stature of Liberty in New York Harbour. The contest runs every two years and has now grown to 16 nations.
Further details on the event on the website www.bantry2012.com



Septic tank charges create a stink
By Martin Kelleher

If you are in good humour and happen to own one of the estimated network of 500,000 septic tanks in Ireland please don’t read any more of this article.

The Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 has just been passed by our elected representatives, 76 votes to 34 and will be considered for final approval just around about now. Minister Phil Hogan said that the key objective of the new legislation is to “enhance and protect public health and the environment which will benefit rural dwellers in terms of rural quality of life and better quality water”.

In October 2009 the European Court of Justice found that Ireland had failed to meet its obligations under the various directives to enforce particular standards in the emissions of human waste. Basically our country is facing a lump sum fine of €2.6m and daily fines of €26,000 for as long as we don’t comply with this EU directive.

Because of this: From 2013 all householders with septic tanks will now be required to register their system with their local authority and a national register will be complied by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency); the registration fee is €50; this fee is to fund an inspection plan which will be developed by the EPA and implemented by the respective local authority; inspections are to be carried out by local authority engineers or employed assessors; inspections will be concentrated mainly on areas where drinking water sources or habitats are likely to be; inspections may give rise to householders being advised to improve the maintenance of their systems or in more serious cases may require the upgrading or remediation of the treatment systems.

There was a very interesting placard held up outside Leinster House last week at a protest by 500 people who travelled from Galway. It stated ‘Septic Tank charges are a Pain in the H**e’. It’s hard to disagree.
Martin Kelleher MIPAV, Auctioneer, Valuer and BER Assessor.

Letting the outdoors in to your home
By Tig Mays

Modern houses have bigger windows than old ones. Picture windows, sun rooms, sliding glass doors – these are relatively new concepts. The ‘big house’ of old may have had big windows, but for everyone else, home was a fairly dark place. So, what do these big windows have to do with gardens?

Most modern gardens are as much for looking at from inside as they are for actually being in. You could even argue that they are ‘more’ for looking at: we see them while we eat our breakfast, watch our TV and cook our meals. But how often do we actually enter them? They play a huge part in the way our home feels. They are practically in our living rooms and, if we’re lucky there’s a great view beyond.

Despite our mild climate, the outdoors in Ireland is a fairly inhospitable place for much of the year. It’s dark for most of our waking hours over the winter. If you have a job or go to school, it’s possible that you’ll only have the chance to see your garden in daylight for five or six hours per week. For those hours it could be cold, wet or windy: the grass is water-logged and the ground is slippy. You really don’t want to be outside. Of course, we do have glorious summer days when we can really be in the garden, and we should never forget them. But we should not plan our gardens around them.

The fad for the garden being an ‘outdoor room’ suddenly seems very out-of-date in our more frugal, post-crash world. Do we really want – let alone need – all the things outside that we have inside already? This includes furniture (with cushions), lights, speakers, cooking areas, painted walls, paved ground and wall-mounted ‘features’. These are the things that we have indoors anyway – only outdoors they are rarely used and probably falling apart. We have to remember: this is Ireland, not New Mexico, France or the deck of a cruise liner.

Given the amount of hard surfaces in our daily lives, do we really want more than we need of this on our own home turf? We need paths and surfaces so we can get around our house cleanly, and we need somewhere for parking, but we don’t need swathes of paving that put us at a distance from what is probably the best antidote of all to modern life: the natural world.

Plants in this situation, pushed to raised beds or to garden boundaries are relegated to a very lowly status. They are used for a splash of colour here, a dash of movement there, a bit of screening over there. On the other hand, even the simplest garden – a lawn with some bulbs and well-chosen shrubs around it – can provide enough for seasonal change, rotation of flowers, weekly changes. If there are views to the landscape beyond, this planting can relate directly to that, merging the immediate garden with the borrowed landscape in a subtle way.

Modern houses are built solidly. There have sturdy concrete foundations, damp-proof courses and many layers of cladding, each of which protects the next one. There’s no danger of damaging a house by allowing plants right up to it. There are a few obvious things not to do – don’t plant an oak tree six inches from your kitchen window; don’t plant a willow on your drains. Otherwise, allow plants to come as near to your house as you like. Often, the best part of a garden is that south-facing wall which is also the back of the house. Put it to ideal use, and that means plant it: with herbs, with lavender, with flowers or even with a trained fruit tree. If you need a path around the house, move it out a couple of feet from the house so that the house in nicely anchored in its setting. This is common in most countries except for Ireland and England where we appear to have a particular fear of plants. It’s known as ‘foundation planting’. If you need a patio for table and chairs, move it away from the house so that it can have planting all around it. This will make it a more pleasant place to be in and will also mean that you can have garden right up to your house.

If the trend over the years has been to create an ‘outdoor room’ by constructing a garden with all the trappings of an interior, I would suggest that the next trend will be a complete reversal: allow the outdoors to come in. Participate in the natural beauty of the outdoors without having to enter it – at least for some of the year!