The McAteer story

From the wild Atlantic shores of Donegal to the Moon, a Celtic Artist's journey.

This is a story about the sea and the Atlantic, which was the link between Ireland and the U.S. My father, Michael McAteer, age 90, was born in a stone cottage by the Atlantic Ocean. My grandfather, Patrick McAteer, a fisherman with a deep Christian faith in a place steeped in fairy lore, spoke only Gaelic. This Celtic Christian heritage shaped my expression as a PoetArtist and the ethereal mysticism in my work. This ancient link to the Atlantic led me to the Wausau Museum and a painting that connected me to the Ojibwe Native American people, whose ancestors also migrated westward from the Atlantic coast, both deeply connected to sacred waters and the guiding light of survival.

My grandmother Cassie was a deeply spiritual woman who either seemed to be praying the Rosary or cutting spuds, her hands full of the same creative power as mine. Little did she think her influence would lead to the creation of her granddaughter's work 'Star of the Sea ', an image which will be preserved permanently on the Moon this year with 'The Lunar Codex' eternally linking my Irish spiritual heritage with Donegal and the Universe. It is a symbol of Universal Peace borne from an Irish heritage of struggle and survival and a simple faith of the Irish people.

Le gach dea ghuí,
Martina McAteer

(Archival themes Donegal roots, Wausau Museum, Ojibwe connection, Star of the Sea, Celtic Christian art, Lunar Codex, Atlantic diaspora, Irish America 250 #MyIrishStory)