It’s a long way from Palm Beach to Kilmovee, but photographer Jessica Glynn knows the journey well. Specialising in architecture and interiors, the award-winning photographer has trained her camera lens on some of the most exclusive homes in Florida. The Long Islander lived in Palm Beach for 16 years with her Irish-born husband Gerard Glynn, a builder who worked on high-end renovations.
So what tempted them to move from sunny Palm Beach in 2021 to rural Co Mayo, an area more rain-drenched than sun-drenched? “It was crazy and still feels a bit crazy. We left two six-figure jobs in Florida to come to Ireland with no plan and no jobs,” she says. Their daughter was 11 and they had always talked about moving to Gerard’s home county. “Ireland in my opinion has one of the best education systems in the world. We wanted her to finish school here and be around his family and the farm and stuff like that.”
Jessica was no stranger to Mayo, having been a regular visitor since she met Gerard, a Kiltimagh native, in a Boston bar. But living there was quite different. “Mostly the weather was the biggest surprise,” she says. “I didn’t think it would be as bad as it is. The winters are hard, just because it’s so dark. I got used to a lot of sunlight in Florida.”
But she continues to get regular vitamin D top-ups through her work. “I go back to Florida about two to three months of the year for photo shoots, because I have a base of clients there from 16 years of working there. But then I also have new clients here,” she says. She is now working with Irish interior designers and for Irish magazine editors.
“In Palm Beach, the homes I am photographing are Fortune 500 CEOs, famous athletes, cabinet secretaries, prolific authors, A-list designers and billionaires. In Ireland, I am photographing solo creatives in their homes and studios – painters, gardeners, chefs, interior designers and more.”
Her work has already picked up awards here, the most recent one being the 2026 Architecture and Interior Design Photographer of the Year award run by the Irish Professional Photographers and Videographers Association. Her photographs have appeared in magazines such as Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, The Wall Street Journal and House and Home, while her coffee table books include Palm Beach Chic, and Beachside – Windsor Architecture and Design.
The latter book reflects the 10 years she spent photographing the exclusive Windsor development. The 472-acre gated community on a former citrus plantation was founded by the late businessman and former Brown Thomas owner Galen Weston and his Irish-born wife Hillary Weston. Her photographs of palm‑shaded courtyards and pools, dining tables with ocean views, bright and airy kitchens and lush gardens, give an insight into life in this seaside haven. Her latest book, House Love, is a monograph featuring homes designed by the Floridian firm Moor Baker Architects.
Spending so much time photographing houses meant she already had a dream home checklist when it came to planning their new home in Kilmovee. They bought the unfinished new build in 2019, while they were still living in the US. When they moved to Ireland, they lived with Gerard’s family in Kiltimagh, while he worked on the house. She designed the interiors, selecting lighting, flooring and tiles. “Everything was based on what I had seen over the past 16 years, ideas that I had got – too many ideas, my husband said.” She describes the aesthetic as modern farmhouse. “We wanted a natural earthy style, so we have natural wood on the upstairs floors where the bedrooms are, in my office, in the guest room, and then the floors downstairs in the main kitchen, livingroom and diningroom are large-format porcelain stone-looking tiles.”
Their house is airtight with underfloor heating, a heat recovery system and a Building Energy Rating of A3. “It’s nice that you’re not always closing the door to a room to keep the cold from coming in.” One of her favourite features in their Shaker-style kitchen is a cooker hood that slopes and vanishes into the wall. She had seen that feature in a house in Windsor, and her husband was able to recreate it in Kilmovee.
“We wanted a really clean aesthetic because we like open-plan living, but didn’t want it to feel cluttered. Our tea and coffee station is behind doors, and then any other appliance we have is behind doors on the other end of the stove.”
She sourced materials from all over the country and sometimes further afield. The kitchen came from Flannery Kitchens in Co Roscommon, and the charred timber on the island unit was supplied by Correll Timber in Co Offaly. The island includes a built-in bookcase for cookbooks and a hidden cook’s stool. She sourced the kitchen lights from Mullan Lighting in Co Monaghan, but the stools surrounding the island had to make a longer journey. They came from Dan Bursztyn, a furniture craftsman based in Argentina. “He flat packs and ships the furniture that he makes. It didn’t take too long to put them together.”
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While she found it hard to source some things locally, she had no difficulty finding artwork for the walls. “I found that was a lot easier to find than probably in America. Lola Donoghue is in Shrule in Co Mayo, and Siobhan McNutt is in Galway and I love their work.”
Irish homes are quite different from the homes she photographs in Florida, but she says we can all learn from each other. She has embraced the electric kettle, an appliance that’s rare in the US, and she appreciates the use of colour in Irish homes. “The US could follow suit on that. So many homes these days are all white.” She also likes the idea of a snug or den. “I think that’s really cosy, and we don’t have one because it’s not something I would have thought of before I moved here. Here, in winter the nights are really long, so you want a cosy room to relax in.”
And she feels we could learn from the way Florida does indoor/outdoor living, even with our inclement weather. “I think Ireland could use some of the ideas – an area close and easily accessible to the house with a pergola or an overhang and a fire pit for warmth,” she says. “Also fly-screens would be great year round.”
The distance from her family and friends is the biggest drawback to living in Ireland. But not waking up to the daily chaos of the White House is a relief. “As an American living in Ireland now, I feel fortunate, safe and calm. I feel like my daughter is getting an amazing education and I don’t have to worry about her not coming home because of a school shooting with an automatic rifle,” she says. Irish people don’t tend to ask her directly if she supports the US president. “They might talk about a crazy news story from the US and then wait to hear how I react, which is usually in anger, embarrassment or outrage. I am saddened to see the country I was born in being torn apart daily, solely by one person, but also by others that support it as well.”
Her husband had studied farm management before emigrating to the US and he has returned to farming with gusto. “We have sheep and cattle. The pedigree sheep are Zwartbles. They’re like the golden retriever of sheep. They’re so friendly and easy to take care of,” she says. He still does some carpentry work and the couple are looking at developing their own building projects. She also has plans to sell her fine art photography, a mix of nature and architecture.
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Five years on since they left Palm Beach, it’s clear that the move has benefited the whole family. “We couldn’t be happier with the education our daughter is receiving here. I believe the experience will open so many doors to her in the future,” she says.
“Day-to-day life in the west is definitely quieter and simpler. We can slow down and enjoy family life.” She still misses the sunshine but it’s a small sacrifice. “The weather shapes the people – the Irish have grit, humour and an authenticity that feels deeply refreshing.”
