Artist Kingerlee bewitched by the beauty of Beara

Moving to West Cork proved a creative renewal for artist John Kingerlee, one which went hand in hand with his spiritual awakening, writes Arts Editor Marc O’Sullivan

When John Kingerlee and his wife Mo took Irish citizenship in 2010, it cemented their relationship with the country they had long known as home.

The Kingerlees moved here from Cornwall in 1982. They had run a small pottery in Treveor, but fancied a change, having reared their family of five. Kingerlee had enjoyed some success as a painter in the ’60s — the actor Richard Harris collected his work — and he hoped to return to the practice.