A Moment in Time, Ervallagh

Ervallagh, near Roundstone, is a favourite place of mine to paint. This painting, A Moment in Time, Ervallagh, is my impression of the story below. My paternal grandmother and her family came from there, just opposite the lovely beach. A brother of hers, my granduncle Christy, fascinates me though he passed away before I was born. It is 130 years since he was born. At just 18 years of age, he and another friend from Roundstone, only 17, joined the British Navy in 1911. I imagine him just before he leaves his home place, what must he have been feeling? So young and from a large family of 11. He was on a great number of ships, traveling far from his home and finally returning wounded after 22 years. I discovered this through some research after finding his war medals, tucked away in a drawer! I included the anchor because I’m guessing the tattoo mentioned in the archives on his left forearm may have been an anchor.. Remembering his story through this painting, Christopher O Toole.