Ballynahinch

No series of paintings on the Irish Diaspora would be complete without showing the railway. From the Manitoba border east, you could say the Irish built them all and to the west of Manitoba we can thank the Chinese for their construction west

Ballynahinch is a small village in County Down, Northern Ireland roughly 28 minutes south down the M1 and A49 motorways from Belfast. It is also the name Brandon gave to his painting to honour the life of a man who gave his very life working as a navvy on the railway named James Maxwell Graham who was his Great Grandfather. Navvy short for navigator was a term given to the thousands of Irishmen who toiled away building Canada’s railways and canals.

Morrígan the Irish Wolf purposefully painted looking back as Brandon imagines many like his Great Grandfather would feel melancholy for the life they left behind.

This section of rail is located in Leaside the area Brandon grew up and lives today with his wife Janie and their two dogs Fionn and Dolores.