The Púca or Pooka is an Irish creature of the otherworld, a shapeshifter usually in animal form that terrifies unsuspecting folk in the night, often by taking them on a mad adventure and dumping them back where they started, dishevelled and smelling of whiskey.

The swirls are supposed to be a magic mist. They were a bit of an experiment but I quite like the effect. This isn’t based on an actual story, but a made-up tale in my head. The old man is a storyteller – he spends the evening telling tales of the folly of the Púca, and then has the misfortune to encounter a real one on his journey home.

Within my own family there was a rich tradition of tales of encounters with the Púca on the road from Ballyvourney to Coolea, so it feels like a nice subject to explore.