THE VEE …. DOWN MEMORY LANE
This stunning capture of The Vee by the very talented Breeda Kiely Morgan fills me with fond and great memories.….
Mention The Vee and it evokes images of rhododendrons in magnificent full bloom extending for miles along the hillsides of early summer; of the dark mysterious waters of Bay Lough nestling in the hollow of the mountains surrounding it in their gentle but impressively majestic beauty; the sweeping vista of the great pastiche of chequered fields extending to the furthest horizon on a clear day, right into the very heart of Ireland.
The rhododendron bushes in the foreground carry the eye readily and seamlessly into the picture lending it an immediate convincing depth and perspective. Across the simple but graceful elegance of the arched bridge to the fork of the road with its signposts all powerfully suggesting the name of this lovely mountain region, The Vee, the place where roads with their promise of movement and communication both diverge and combine to traverse the mountains and bring people together. Beyond the junction, the mountainside rises steeply in its wild floral richness carrying our gaze upwards to the unseen sky so full of mystery.
That road across the lovely bridge that offers an engaging centre point reveals so much of the story of this place of wild mountain, yet which has been touched profoundly by human activity through the ages, not least as exemplified in the profusion of rhododendron that so far from being native to this part of the world, is but a Victorian import from the foothills of the Himalayas and thriving in the acidic mountain soil.
Often regarded as a nuisance to biodiversity prompting constant eradication efforts in the Killarney National Park, for the Waterford people The Vee and the rhododendrons have become synonymous with each other and much loved for their seasonal red and purple profusion. The ‘rhodos’ as they are often affectionately called: our late mother who was a native of Cappoquin, had two dwarf rhododendron bushes planted in our front garden where they still flourish.
That Vee road carries such memories for us all, so full of life’s truth with its sadness and joy, heartbreak and happiness. It was along that mountain route all those years ago came the funeral cortege of our Uncle Willie Sargent, coming home to his final resting place in Cappoquin having been tragically killed in a motorcycle racing accident in Wicklow with hundreds of hushed people lining the way.
Then, there was the joyful wedding cavalcade of our dear parents Margaret Anne Sargent and John Walsh, coming over the mountains from the church ceremony in Cappoquin to the joyful reception in Cahir House Hotel: photographs from that great occasion still adorn our living room. And of course, there were all the visits to Mount Melleray Abbey through the years, sustaining a very long family association with that peaceful and holy monastic place in times of thanksgiving and times of pain.
Yet, nature always brought forth the beauty of God’s presence there as our mother never forgot that morning when emerging from the abbey chapel with its great pinnacled four-cornered tower after a special First Anniversary Mass for William, whose death was like the falling of a wonderful star from the heavens and yet being struck by the dazzling brilliance of the snow that lay all around in the sunlight of that early May morning. She saw it as a great sign of life’s essential transience to be sure, but also a gleaming radiance of hope and grace overcoming the darkness and the sorrow.
This delightful picture of the road that quietly winds its way through the mountains that always catch the clouds, climbing the highest slopes only to descend into the sweet valleys with placid waters and green pastures where we can all find happiness and peace, portrays the movement of the spirit by its very stillness.
Thank you Breeda Kiely Morgan from Frank Morgan Studios, Fermoy for this lovely photographic evocation of The Vee with such depth of meaning and delightful visual finesse.