05/09/2026
When Mary McCarty visited Inis Oírr from the US with her daughter in 2003, she never would have expected she’d make the Galway island her home over 20 years later, nor that she would build a thriving quilt-making business there.
Her daughter Alyssa met a man from Inis Oírr, Michael, who would later become her husband. 'She moved here with him, so I came back to visit her every year,' Mary explained. A few years in, Mary was staying in a house owned by Michael on the island, where she met her own future husband, Pat Quinn from Longford.
'I literally met him in the kitchen. We were kind of looking at each other like, ‘who are you? What are you doing here.?' “He was always here and I would see him again every time I visited and be like, ‘hey’! Finally at one point he was like, ‘don’t go back. Just stay here!’. We both knew we wanted to stay here and stay here together.'
Mary, 76, says the adjustment wasn’t entirely easy. 'Before here, I had never lived anywhere but Wisconsin. My mom, when I moved here, she said ‘well, you’re 57 I guess you can do what you want!’ It was absolutely an adjustment. Wisconsin isn’t big but it’s still America.'
Sewing and crafts were already a passion of Mary’s and moving to the island allowed her the space and time to dedicate to it – eventually spawning her own quilt-making business, McQuilties.
'I think the quilts were just one thing I made. But when I came here I realised how unique it is. It’s a creative experience for me and them because you have to get on each others’ wavelength.'
She says island life has made her more concerned about wastefulness. 'Our society and the world, the way we interact with materials – we need to see stuff as precious. These things are made by a person and they’re throwing their heart and soul into it'
