Kate Tortland's Page

I was thinking about it myself (still am), so I got them to mail me the application forms last year. The contact details are:-

Postal Address:
The Cill Rialaig Project
Ballinskelligs
Co Kerry
Ireland

Tel/Fax:

353 669479297 (Tel))
353 669479324 (Fax)

E-Mail:

cillrialaigarts@eircom.net

While I was there, I checked out one of the artists' studios. You should be aware that the accommodation is very basic, e.g. the "bedroom" is just a loft up a sort of ladder above the studio, and the location is about as remote as you can get. But on the plus side, the old stone cottages are converted into very well designed studio space with good natural light. I think the people behind the project wanted to make sure that it attracted bone fide artists rather than tourists!

Hi Kate,

The main reason I recognised it was that my wife and I were on vacation for a week in Valentia Island in September '09, and I drove over that direction one morning to paint. Funny thing was just as I was finishing up, I looked behind me to find another artist painting some twenty yards away. Turns out he was Clare-based artist, Michael Hanrahan (now a member of Pleineire too), who I'd met in Wexford a couple of years previously - he was doing a fortnight's residency in Cill Rialaig. We finished up attracting quite a crowd of curious on-lookers - mainly German tourists!