The Fitzgerald farm in Caherlevoy was divided in 1894, when my second great grandfather died and the land passed to his two eldest sons in portions. The portion that came to my direct line left the family in 1977. The other half remains with Fitzgerald descendants to this day.
I did not see it until 2010, when a cousin drove me out to show me where it had been. We could not go in. We stood at the edge of what had once been ours and looked.
At each side of the entrance stands a stone figure, flanking the gate. This is one of them. I photographed it from where I stood — outside, looking in. All I have is its back.
I made a watercolor rendering of the photograph when I came home. The treatment seemed right for what the visit had been: the land visible, the past just behind it, neither one reachable.