A new beginning.......

In April 2018 we set about restoring an old cottage on my family's farm. The cottage has been in the family since 1905, and had been extended several time since then, most recently in the 1960's. We don't know how old the oldest part of it was, except that it was owned by a family called Mooney. We can only assume that it dated back to sometime in the 1800's, although it's possible it was older again.

The oldest bit of the cottage. 

This is my great grandfather, Timothy (1864-1937), with his wife Bessie (1864-1946) and their daughter Ellen (1904-1988). This photo was likely taken in the 1920's or 1930's when Ellen was a young woman. 

Later the house was owned and extended by my grandfather, Tom, seen here with my grandmother, Elizabeth (Lilly) and their eldest daughter Eileen. 

 

It is where my dad, Tim, bottom right, and his siblings grew up. This was taken in either the late 1940's or very early 1950's. Anyway, the house wasn't in great shape after being uninhabited since the early 2000's. Although it was lovely house in the mid 1980's when this was taken.

It was the typical idyllic Irish grandparent's house, with homemade brown bread and tea and soft butter. 

As of February 2019, it's home to the pair of us, with lots of work still left to be done.