Review
A sumptuous record of arguably the most beautiful sea-lough on these islands, says Sean McMahon.
- Still on the Sound
- Blackstaff
Islanders
The beauty of Strangford Lough as seen in the film December Bride so startled British viewers that they thought it computer generated.
In this sumptuous production by Blackstaff Press there are more than 200 colour photographs taken by the author that provide evidence that it may be the most beautiful sea-lough in these islands. About two thirds of the way down the western shore just out from Ringhaddy Sound is Islandmore, one of many islets in an archipelago. There in the Blue Cabin, Michael Faulkner, with his Scottish wife, the artist Lynn McGregor, and sundry dogs, has spent an idyllic seven years.
This second chronicle of Islandmore takes us through four typical seasons of an endlessly engrossing year with the lough’s notorious winter storms a faded memory during the halcyon days of summer. Among the island pictures are touching domestic snaps of Michael’s more famous father Brian, who as Northern Ireland’s last prime minister had to witness the fall of Stormont and the collapse of the power-sharing executive. How long ago it all seems and how insignificant, compared with the light, the boats and the Brent geese on their winter holidays.
