Mary Hawkes-Greenehas lived in a dormer cottage in Ballyvaughan Co Clare since 1983
I live on top of a hill overlooking Ballyvaughan and Galway bay. The locality is called Lios an Ard, which means the fairy fort on high. According to the ordnance survey map, the fort is right behind the house. We built it 23 years ago in the traditional cottage style, to blend in with the area. Four years ago I extended it and added on a very contemporary piece. The small windows didn't offer enough light, and didn't afford views over the amazing vista here. So we have huge floor-to-ceiling windows on the new part, which are perfect for the views.
The Burren is a fabulous place, and Ballyvaughan in particular. I came here 25 years ago for a wine and food weekend. I had never been in the Burren before. I came for the craic, and in that weekend I fell in love with the place, and fell in love with somebody in the place. I'm from Askeaton, Co Limerick, but I have no sense of belonging there anymore. I'm from Ballyvaughan now. The Burren is very special. It's very elemental, it's stark and seems barren to the eye, but it's full of richness underneath the surface. I guess that is what has attracted the artists and creative people who have come to live here over the years. My late husband Michael set up an art college here. It's a place where artists love to come.
The college opened in 1994. We have more than 100 students from all over the world staying here, and it adds an interesting dimension to the local community. It's a very strong community, and a lot of people who come to the college have added to that.
Michael's family was 10 generations in Ballyvaughan, and he valued the sense of place - he felt he was living in the best place in the world. He wanted to make a facility for artists to come and work in the Burren, in a way that also benefited the village. He had the vision, and I did the operational side. We also restored a 16th-century tower house on the grounds of the college. It's a round tower coming out of a pyramidal base. It looks like a rocket taking off - it's a real beacon on the horizon.
We have a fantastic farmers' market every Saturday. In December the whole place is transformed for a Christmas market. The village hall is transformed into a fairyland of Christmas trees, fantastic produce and gifts. People are realising they don't want the horrible hassle of the city in the run-up to Christmas. Last year I didn't go near the city. I did all my Christmas shopping in the village, walking down the street, spending a very relaxed Saturday chatting with neighbours, buying everything I wanted.