Places are fundamental for any writers creative process. I always know when a good writer is really familiar with a place, they bring colour and life that only really knowing makes possible.
John Steinbeck brought Southern California alive for me long before I ever visited the area. James Joyce made Dublin live for me. So here are a few of the places that feature in my novels but mainly the one that hold good memories. You’ll not find Belfast here – only horror there for me.
Sandy Cove near Kinsale features in most of my later novels. The Dawes from the Daniel series and the West Cork Trilogy live there in the red house (centre of top image) on the sea. The fictional house is based on this place but I didn’t live there and don’t know the people who did. (This is the view from the house I lived in.) In the work I describe Lauren and the children swimming here, crabbing, shrimping and fishing for whitebait and mackerel. In the summer vast shoals of little silver darlings come into the bay chased by shoals of voracious hunting mackerel. It’s a harvest much anticipated by the few who live here and appreciate the delights of deep fried crunchy little whitebait. Oh my mouth is watering thinking of it. Brigitte gathered them by the bucket full with a children’s shrimping net while, I hooked the careless keen mackerel as fast as I could cast. Charlie the cat went daft eating the silver darlings. He’d get high on fish oil and go ape. He attacked a huge dog that happened along and tried to interrupt his gorging. The sight of a white cat hooking little fish out of the water by the slip edge caused much hilarity among the human fishers.
The other place of great magic and affection for B and I is the Black Valley in Kerry. That has not yet featured in my writing. It’s almost too precious for that. I first came here as a 17 year old to camp and escape Belfast. It’s not far from Killarney but feels remote and rarely gets many visitors. I used to leave a line and hook overnight in the mountain stream ponds and have little brook trout fresh for breakfast. Magical. There is something special about this valley. It’s not the most majestic. It’s beauty is subtitle and small scale but all the more charming for that.
David Rory ONeill 
So lovely, David. Thank you for sharing these photos (and descriptions) here.
My mother-in-law lived in the Red House (Rock House) at Sandy Cove when she was 6-months old. Her father had recently died in a polo accident in Delhi, India and her widowed mother came back to Ireland with 2 children aged 6 months and 2 years, to live in the Red House while she was waiting for funds to be released from the estate. I think they arrived in 1929. If you want to find out more I can ask her for details. Her name is Diana Poulsen nee Knox from Passage West
David hope you enjoyed talking to the walkers in Bangor. We enjoyed meeting and your crew.
Dolores, I enjoyed our little chat very much. Thank you for taking the time to comment here. I will be doing a post about my Bangor trip very soon and you and your delightful friends will be a great part of that lovely day of nostalgia.