A Spanish couple and their five children have relocated to a small Gaeltacht community on the Galway-Mayo border after being chosen to live there rent-free for a year.
They were picked from over 1,000 applications in a bid to boost numbers at the local school and save it from closing.
This is Joyce country and it's a big week for the Gaeltacht community in An Chloch Bhreac, outside An Fhairce.
Scoil Naomh Pádraig is welcoming five new students from Spain.
They range in age from four to ten and are about to start an exciting new chapter in this close-knit rural community
The children's arrival brings means a 50% increase in student numbers, up from ten to 15, which is helping to save a teacher and keep the school open in the long-term.
The family say being picked to live here rent free is the stuff of dreams
Isabel Fortes came to Galway as an au pair and returned to complete a master's degree. She now works at Boston Scientific. Her partner, Miguel Ángel Ros is a mechanic with a truck licence and is looking for work.
Isabel also has a degree in fine art.
"Painting is my passion and I feel that living here in this rural community will inspire my creativity. As a family we love nature and like to go for long walks. I'm from a village in Northern Spain and the landscape is so similar to here. I really feel like I'm home from home."
Miguel is from Valencia and chuckles about having to get used to the wind and rain in Ireland. Apart from the weather he says he is thrilled to be starting a new life here with his family.
"It's spectacular land, spectacular mountains and spectacular people. This is a beautiful place and we are going to save hard to buy a house in An Chloch Bhreac. Houses are very expensive in Ireland but we have free rent for a year and I will hopefully get work soon. I was a manager of a garage in Spain."
Both Isabel and Miguel want the five children to embrace different languages and become multicultural. Isabel loves the Irish language.
"I'm so happy for the children to soak up the language and culture here. They will learn English now and be able to speak it the world over. But I also want them to know the Gaelic language and culture. Languages are so important for opening up their minds."
The family are very grateful to be living in such a small school where their children will get a lot of individual attention which they say will help their children to thrive in this new school environment.
Isabel says there's also shared sense of humour between the Irish and the Spanish. There was much laughter at Scoil Naomh Pádraig as the new students were learning 'cúpla focal' and trying to pronounce An Chloch Bhreac!
Áine Ní Mhainín is Acting Principal and says the children are at a great age to learn new languages.
"Young kids are like sponges and this family will pick up Irish and English in no time. Already they are playing football and communicating with the other eleven pupils. We've been having musical sessions and that bonds the kids in a big way. It's like a big family here.
"They will get so much one to one attention and we're delighted to have them. They will bring so much to our Gaeltacht area and they are helping to keep our school open," she says.
"When you look at primary school class sizes across the country we realise how fortunate we are here in An Scoil Naomh Pádraig."
Isabel says the family fully intends to settle in An Chloch Bhreac.
"People are so nice. We feel so welcome and the kids are so happy. So this is our future."
"Yeah," Miguel looks at her and nods. "This is our future. This is where we want to stay".
