Do you need to be clear-sighted to be a photographer?
We ask because Paul Carroll, of Carlingford's Ghan House, used to be a corporate photographer, and because we don't know anyone else who is just as clear-sighted as this guy.
Ask him he he has made such a success of Ghan House, for example, and he will tell you that you need to “jump out of yourself. Don't do what others do.”
And he thinks long term, the way clear-sighted folk do: “Quick fixes don't last: growth has to be organic.” That sort of thinking means that in 2013 Ghan House had as many rooms occupied at year's end as they had in 2007, at the height of the Celtic Tiger madness. And the emphasis on organic development means that under Mr Carroll's care, Ghan House is a destination that has seasoned, seasoned in the same way your favourite frying pan gets seasoned, and so becomes better to use, more adaptable, wiser, less shiny but more precious, more valuable.
His vision has also gifted him with a bullet proof optimism: is Mr Carroll’s glass half full, or half empty? The truth is his glass runneth over, for this radical hotelier fashions victory and satisfaction from every year’s work. But he only manages this by being intensely focused: "95% of my business is from Ireland - most tourist traffic is directed to the West, so the local market is hugely important for us" he will tell you. And those customers are looked after superbly: whilst the Ghan House style of service doesn't initially suggest empathy, but there is Mr Carroll with his umbrella as you leave the car in the rain. There are the little notes, reminding you to use the blue key, not the black. There is the glass of iced water that you didn't know you wanted till it was put in front of you. The wood fire in the hall, blazing away. The sun-drenched metal chairs in the mature garden.
Ghan House: everything is in clear sight.