People, that I know, often ask why I chose to live in the rural community that I grew up in. I get asked (quite a lot) why I haven’t moved to a larger city, ‘as all young people do’.
I’ll tell you why.
Easkey, to me, is the ultimate place to live. Life here is serene and uninterrupted.
Everyone who lives here knows each other. The locals probably know a lot more about you than you know about yourself! Everyone looks out for each other and there is a great sense of community spirit, and I mean that it in the least clichéd way possible. The people who live in Easkey come from all walks of life, from all corners of the world and all share diverse interests. Yet, everyone seems to live in harmony. Surfers alongside farmers, artists alongside football players. We all share the same interest; the love of the place that we live in.
Easkey is such a beautiful part of the world. The rocky coastline, world famous surf and rural landscape all paint the picture that is our little village. Countless sunsets have painted the skies at the end of a beautiful summer evenings. Even in stormy weather it is beautiful, waves crash against the pier enticing photographers to get ‘the shot’. It is a creative corner. Easkey boasts a large amount of creative and artistic people, from visual artists, designers, musicians, writers and actors…the list is endless. It is no wonder that artists come here to live so that they can concentrate on their work. The surroundings are inspirational and there are few unnecessary distractions.
For surfers, this is paradise, The waves are world famous. The water may get crowded when it’s ‘on’, but for such a famous spot it is quiet when compared to surf spots of the same legacy. Crowded here means over ten people. Fishermen have a beautiful, unpolluted place to gather the freshest of fish off the harbour in their boats, as well as individuals fishing on the pier. There is nothing better than throwing a mackerel on a barbeque that was freshly caught that day, and for the vegetarians like me there's always the locally grown veg to barbeque too.
The music is great here. There are several musicians of all ages. Traditional sessions occur in McGowan’s bar and I’m not gonna lie, the Guinness in Easkey is the best in Ireland. The local, country pub is a rarity now and Easkey boasts two; McGowan’s and The Fisherman’s Weir (now called the Castle Inn as of November 2016).
The only traffic you might hear in the morning is the occasional tractor and it’s one of the few places where a traffic jam is caused by cows or sheep and not other cars. It’s the peace, the people and the amazing surroundings that make Easkey a great place to live, in my opinion.
We live in one of the rarest places in Ireland; the unspoilt rural village….with all mod-cons.
I worked in customer service for years and a lot of tourists would say ‘you are so lucky that you live here’. And they are right. People continue to move to Easkey as its charm and beauty are such an attraction. Living in the country limits unnecessary distractions and enables you to appreciate the little things in life, it makes life simpler and a lot more enjoyable. As Da Vinci said;
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”