About this photograph
A rain shaft falls on the Atlantic while light breaks through over the town. The weather of the west in a single moment: darkness, then grace.
This is Ballybunion, on the north Kerry coast, close to where the Shannon meets the open Atlantic. The town sits on low cliffs facing straight out to sea, and the weather reaches it first. You can watch a squall gather over the water, cross the bay and pass over the rooftops in the time it takes to finish a cup of tea.
Anyone who has travelled the Wild Atlantic Way, the 2,500 km coast road from Donegal to Cork, will know this light. It rarely lasts more than a few minutes, which is why so many photographs of the west of Ireland are made by people who are prepared to wait.
In black and white, the scene comes down to its essentials: the weight of the cloud, the falling rain, the bright terraces along the cliff. It is Irish wall art for a room that can take a little drama, and for anyone who grew up on this coast, a true picture of a day at the sea in Kerry.
