Brenda,
A bit of info for you.
Last Thursday I read ‘Jim Blake's tour from Clonave to London’ in the National Library, Dublin. I live not two miles from Clonave. I grew up with Eskine Nicol’s St Patrick’s Day, since acquired by the National Gallery of Ireland. I was delighted to discover Nicol had a studio not far from where I’ve settled and I have done extensive reseach trying to find the exact location of his studio and today I feel I am very close. I had thought the author Jim Blake was an English friend of Nicols but only saw the light when I read his delightful account of his Journey to his friend Nicol in London and detected his brogue. He caught the train from Multifarnham Station to Dublin and stayed overnight with William Wilde, eye surgeon: no doubt his 2-year old Oscar was making a niusance of himself!
At the end of the book he returns to Clonave and his wife NANCY, so there is a clue for you. I attach two images also
1. An Irish Emmigrant Landing at Liverpool 1871
2. "THE HOUSE ON THE LEFT IN THE MID-DISTANCE IS MY STUDIO", 1862
Number one appears as a print in Jim Blakes book and is referred to as a portrait of himself off the boat in Liverpool before he gets the train to London
In number two, the land rising up on the right is recognisably Clonava hill, the low blue hills on the horizon are across Deravaragh right of Kiltoom, I think! I’ll walk down there tomorrow with a printout and try lining it up.
The Castle is on the Ordinance Survey 1835 map and marked as a Castle. The remains are still visible from a satellite image. I introduced myself to Mathew on the phone today. I shall contunue my persuit of the studio and will let you know of any developments
Kevin O’Neill
P.S. I cant see if the files are attached let me know and I’ll send them again, or some other way.
