Jimmy Dowds

Archive for February, 2010

Visiting my second grandson Oisín who lives in Kinsale with his mum Naomi

Naomi and Oisín who is six weeks old

Oisín has an old Irish name and is a lovely quiet little boy but then I would say that as I’m prejudiced

We went for a drive around the old head of Kinsale I went past it in a trawler once or twice but never set foot on it and might never get the chance because for over a decade public access to it has been blocked following the building of a private and ultra-exclusive golf links course – shame shame shame on anyone that plays golf on that course.

Locked gates security guards and razor wire in The Irish Republic ??

But there is a campaign group to help free the old head and you can join their facebook page by clicking on this link.  Its mad that a historic part of Ireland can be kept from us like that even in the rebel county ???

So help us free the old head from the imperial minded big shots that rip us off,  join the facebook group and stay informed as to what is going on.

The VW is back on the road and going sweet, it was a lovely spring day

A part of the view

Rubbish at the Old head some things never change

Garretstown beach is popular with surfers and there was a good gang in the water, the fact that the sun was shining might give an illusion of heat  but it’s still February in this part of the Atlantic.

The tide was well in and the surfers were having a hard time in the breakers

Not the best place to park your car

I was scanning some old photos and here are some of the Jhonny Ruth, a longliner that I worked on in 1988.

Johnny Ruth Porcupine Bank 1988

We fished off the west coast of Ireland for Hake with a Spanish  skipper and crew, I was engineer, they were some of the best fishermen I had the pleasure of working with.
It all ended for me when we pulled in to Castletownbere in West Cork and there was a problem with getting paid so all the crew jacked (quit) and went home to Spain, I stayed in Castletown but that’s another story.

Baiting the hooks

Hauling the line

Hake coming on board

She lay in Castletownbere for a while and later sunk in the Bay of Biscay under a skeleton crew, there was no loss of life.