I could see the same look of incomprehension on her face that my parents often wore: ‘this person cannot possibly be related to me.’ - Sean Dooley

None of the locals I met could understand why I hadn’t immediately built on the land, the mentality being that if you weren’t putting your land to any discernible economic use then it was wasted land. Forget about aesthetics, forget about environmental values, unless you were running something on it, ploughing something into it or extracting something from it, then it was just a waste of space.

That was a pivotal moment in our relationship; that adolescent catharsis when you realise your parents cannot sustain you as they once did – the moment you leave the nest.

Everything seemed to be falling into place perfectly. That had to be a worry.