An important question I ask myself regularly is Why? What is my Why, which is what I will be talking to you about today. To get into my Why I’d have to take you back to a few years ago, when I got out of hospital. About May of 2020 I admitted myself into St. John of Gods Hospital, one of the hardest decisions of my life but was incredibly worth it, so much so that I couldn’t put it into words. I spent the majority of 2 months there working on just myself and my mental health.
While there, I wanted, or rather needed, to find my Why in life; one rather easy task when given the correct resources. So, without getting into the nitty gritty of everything, the choices which came out on top was to try leatherwork and photography(again) and to give myself a purpose to get up everyday. At the start that’s all this was, something to get me out of bed every morning, but over time and without noticing it, it had turned into something that I loved and something that I looked forward to every morning.
Although this was great, that I had found a passion and purpose in life, I started to ask myself that same question from before, What is my Why? It was no longer to have a reason to drag myself out of bed in the morning, so what was it? I was no longer satisfied with just making things for the sake of making things, so, the idea of turning this into something more was born. A brand that puts passion, purpose and love into what I create. So, with that in mind, I got started on building the The Captain of The Irish Pirate and everything around it.
Where did the ‘The Irish Pirate’ come from? Well, I've always been fascinated about Pirates and Ireland had the so called ‘Pirate Queen’ - Grace O’Malley, written down in the history books. From 1530 to 1603 she carved her own path and became known as a feared Pirate and a powerful leader. With that piece of history in mind, I decided to be the Captain of this ship, my ship. This meant, like the Pirate Queen, I would carve my own path through this world. I am the Captain steering this ship, from having nothing and being on the edge, to having all of the plunder I could ever want. Plunder, of course, not being monetary for me… it means freedom, freedom of the mind and the freedom of expression through photography and leatherwork.
After a few orders from family and friends I realised that I had found another Why, which was seeing the facial expression of someone when they are given a handcrafted piece made specifically for them; priceless. The joy of not only that, but the joy of crafting something that someone will hold onto and carry with them for years to come, well, it’s my Why.
All of this to say, to you reading this, whether you are someone who has purchased a piece from me for yourself or for someone else, thank you. With the help of you, I have found my Why and my mental health has improved because of it. So, to sign off, all I ask of you is to tell someone you care about that you love them, maybe check up on that friend that has been a bit off recently and take care of yourself.
To the men reading this, you are not alone. Talking saves lives, let's break down the stigma and carve our own path.
Ná Caill Dóchas - Never lose Hope
Your Captain
