(View from the car park)

We’re back home but still remembering our visit up north, today it’s the fishing village of Kearney. It’s no longer a fishing village, it is owned and managed by the National Trust (conservation organisation) since 1965. It is extremely pretty, lots of white washed cottages and flower gardens and the sun shone. The brochure says it’s a living village, which means the cottages are still lived it. In fact a google search showed one of the cottages is for sale.

(Mary Ann Doonan)

There are no shops in the village, no pubs, no restaurants but there is an information center with a poster about one of the famous residents, Mary Ann Doonan. Mary Ann was a bit of a celebrity in the early 1900’s and was even painted by Sir John Lavery (famous Irish painter born in Belfast.) She had many roles in the village including being captain of the She-Cruiser, a fishing boat crewed entirely by women. This was in the 1800’s and the google searching could dig up no further information so we’ll have to make it up….

(The view from Mary Ann’s cottage)

Maybe her Dad left her his fishing boat in his will… and she wanted to have an independent income… without getting married… Maybe she always dreamed of being a fisherwoman but customs or superstitions prevented her from joining a men’s boat so she needed other women to help her crew her own…. Could be Mary Ann Doonan was a bit of an adventurer and she was willing to break all the rules. Whatever the reason the local important people, Lord and Lady Londonderry (we went to visit them too), were very impressed and brought their famous friends to visit Mary Ann.

More from the peninsula tomorrow, Mairead.