What a great month on the Aran Islands

Holiday

Maura Derrane and baby Con

I spent the last month at home on the Aran Islands at my mother's place and it was just wonderful.

My sister Barbara has a three-year-old and Cal (right) learned so much from him. They had great fun together.

I grew up with three sisters and we were of similar ages and we learned so much from each other, so it was great for Cal to hang out with his cousin.

Being at home was lovely. We had some really nice weather and it was just divine - I loved that Cal saw goats and cows and donkeys for the first time in his life.

It's so weird because I'm such a country person and I just took those things for granted, but he was fascinated by the animals.

When you're living in a town or a city, you forget how much space there is in the countryside.

I hadn't spent that long at home in years, so it was great to kick back and relax.

Other years I was always doing other things and working on other projects in the summer, and it's only this year that I've taken some time off.