I was born in Bermuda. My mum said: “Your father asked me to marry him and I said, ‘Yes… as long as you can take me away somewhere nice!” It was an idyllic childhood. My father was a teacher, so there were lots of long holidays, freedom, a lot of time spent on the beach, a lot of time on or in the water; it was beautiful.
My parents moved back to the UK when I was 13 as dad always wanted to run his own business. They bought a pub and a restaurant, but all I wanted to do from the day we arrived was to go back!
After school, I decided to get a qualification that I could go travelling with, so I trained to be a nanny and a nursery school teacher and that’s what took me back to Bermuda.
That’s where I met my husband, Peter. He comes from a long line of butchers in Dingle and he just fancied taking off. He had done a stint in London, picked up the Meat Trade Journal, saw this job in Bermuda and said: “Bermuda? Where’s that?!”
Actually, I had travelled around Ireland with a friend after finishing school, and visited Dingle. So when I was in this bar one night and saw this guy wearing a St Brendan’s Festival, Dingle Peninsula T-shirt, I thought, “Dingle, gosh I’ve been there!” So you could say I made the first move! That T-shirt is now hanging up, framed, in our house.
Amanda Bentley Curran has turned her passion for art into her business at her home in Barrow East, Co Kerry.
Countryside connection
I’m actually a vegetarian – or rather a pescatarian – but Peter was selling very good fish at the counter where he worked! But what we bonded over initially was our love of the countryside.
I had worked as a nanny on a sheep farm and Peter’s family would have kept sheep in Dingle, so that was our first connection, if you like. The Jacob was the original breed we discussed; we often joke about it!
We stayed in Bermuda short of three years, and then literally went right around the world before we got married in North Yorkshire. Returning to Kerry was always on the agenda, however, so we moved back in 1996, originally to Dingle, before we bought our home in Barrow East, which is close to Fenit on Tralee Bay.
Originally, we had a tack shop and saddlery in Tralee and more recently, Peter ran The Well Bred Butcher in Ardfert. Today, however, he is focusing on sheep farming – he keeps Texels, Vendéens, Scotch and of course my favourite, Jacobs – as well as bee-keeping, selling our honey locally.
With lambing, I usually get called in when Peter’s hands are full! But it’s such a big part of our life, especially for our children, Isabelle and Luke, when they were growing up.
We also take part in Kerry Social Farming, with a participant, Cian, coming on a Tuesday. He’s becoming part of the family too.
For me, it’s giving people a space to play.
Art with Amanda
Art has always been part of my life. I had a pencil in my hands before anything else. When I was doing my nursery nursing, art was something that I would always bring in and I always painted and sold a few bits along with whatever else I was doing. Later on, I did a facilitator’s course for art with the elderly and in the community, and after seeing a gap locally, set up Art With Amanda.
As well as classes and after school clubs for kids, I teach adults. We could do anything from collage and acrylics to painting on canvas. For me, it’s giving people a space to play. Often you’ll hear people say: “Oh I loved it, it was just like being back at school.”
Amanda Bentley Curran with some of her art work inspired by the sea.
And it’s finding a voice as well. People have discovered that they have a style or that they like watercolours and it opens a window and off they go with another interest. It’s just a bit of time for yourself, and I’m facilitating it really and giving you the materials to do it. I’m currently converting the stables here to expand my workshop space.
I also sell my own art, ranging from commissioned illustrations to greeting cards. Watercolour and ink would be my go-to, but over the last five years, I’ve gone back to collage. I’m also working on illustrations for a children’s book, and during lockdown, I created sweatshirts inspired by swimming in Fenit.
It’s a huge source of inspiration to me. Even if it’s not just the physical inspiration of what I’m looking at, it’s how it makes me feel.
I’m raring to go from the minute I come home after a swim, whether it’s sitting at my easel or my desk or with the kids. If I didn’t have it, particularly over the last couple of years, I couldn’t imagine where I’d be.
After I left Bermuda, I never thought I’d get the love of the water again, but I have to say I’ve acclimatised! This is home for me now.
For further information, visit
artwithamanda.ie or follow
@art_withamanda on Instagram
Read more
My Country Living: inspired by nature
My Country Living: Co Limerick wholefoods caterer Lizzy O'Connell
I was born in Bermuda. My mum said: “Your father asked me to marry him and I said, ‘Yes… as long as you can take me away somewhere nice!” It was an idyllic childhood. My father was a teacher, so there were lots of long holidays, freedom, a lot of time spent on the beach, a lot of time on or in the water; it was beautiful.
My parents moved back to the UK when I was 13 as dad always wanted to run his own business. They bought a pub and a restaurant, but all I wanted to do from the day we arrived was to go back!
After school, I decided to get a qualification that I could go travelling with, so I trained to be a nanny and a nursery school teacher and that’s what took me back to Bermuda.
That’s where I met my husband, Peter. He comes from a long line of butchers in Dingle and he just fancied taking off. He had done a stint in London, picked up the Meat Trade Journal, saw this job in Bermuda and said: “Bermuda? Where’s that?!”
Actually, I had travelled around Ireland with a friend after finishing school, and visited Dingle. So when I was in this bar one night and saw this guy wearing a St Brendan’s Festival, Dingle Peninsula T-shirt, I thought, “Dingle, gosh I’ve been there!” So you could say I made the first move! That T-shirt is now hanging up, framed, in our house.
Amanda Bentley Curran has turned her passion for art into her business at her home in Barrow East, Co Kerry.
Countryside connection
I’m actually a vegetarian – or rather a pescatarian – but Peter was selling very good fish at the counter where he worked! But what we bonded over initially was our love of the countryside.
I had worked as a nanny on a sheep farm and Peter’s family would have kept sheep in Dingle, so that was our first connection, if you like. The Jacob was the original breed we discussed; we often joke about it!
We stayed in Bermuda short of three years, and then literally went right around the world before we got married in North Yorkshire. Returning to Kerry was always on the agenda, however, so we moved back in 1996, originally to Dingle, before we bought our home in Barrow East, which is close to Fenit on Tralee Bay.
Originally, we had a tack shop and saddlery in Tralee and more recently, Peter ran The Well Bred Butcher in Ardfert. Today, however, he is focusing on sheep farming – he keeps Texels, Vendéens, Scotch and of course my favourite, Jacobs – as well as bee-keeping, selling our honey locally.
With lambing, I usually get called in when Peter’s hands are full! But it’s such a big part of our life, especially for our children, Isabelle and Luke, when they were growing up.
We also take part in Kerry Social Farming, with a participant, Cian, coming on a Tuesday. He’s becoming part of the family too.
For me, it’s giving people a space to play.
Art with Amanda
Art has always been part of my life. I had a pencil in my hands before anything else. When I was doing my nursery nursing, art was something that I would always bring in and I always painted and sold a few bits along with whatever else I was doing. Later on, I did a facilitator’s course for art with the elderly and in the community, and after seeing a gap locally, set up Art With Amanda.
As well as classes and after school clubs for kids, I teach adults. We could do anything from collage and acrylics to painting on canvas. For me, it’s giving people a space to play. Often you’ll hear people say: “Oh I loved it, it was just like being back at school.”
Amanda Bentley Curran with some of her art work inspired by the sea.
And it’s finding a voice as well. People have discovered that they have a style or that they like watercolours and it opens a window and off they go with another interest. It’s just a bit of time for yourself, and I’m facilitating it really and giving you the materials to do it. I’m currently converting the stables here to expand my workshop space.
I also sell my own art, ranging from commissioned illustrations to greeting cards. Watercolour and ink would be my go-to, but over the last five years, I’ve gone back to collage. I’m also working on illustrations for a children’s book, and during lockdown, I created sweatshirts inspired by swimming in Fenit.
It’s a huge source of inspiration to me. Even if it’s not just the physical inspiration of what I’m looking at, it’s how it makes me feel.
I’m raring to go from the minute I come home after a swim, whether it’s sitting at my easel or my desk or with the kids. If I didn’t have it, particularly over the last couple of years, I couldn’t imagine where I’d be.
After I left Bermuda, I never thought I’d get the love of the water again, but I have to say I’ve acclimatised! This is home for me now.
For further information, visit
artwithamanda.ie or follow
@art_withamanda on Instagram
Read more
My Country Living: inspired by nature
My Country Living: Co Limerick wholefoods caterer Lizzy O'Connell
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