deadlyphoto blog

Was in county Clare at the weekend - went hunting and found Father Ted's House (Craggy Island Parochial House), from the hit TV comedy series.

Right on the south end of Lough Derg, where it narrows back into the River Shannon at Killaloe, Beal Boru is a beautiful example of a ring fort, in an atmospheric setting. The mound is dotted with native Irish timber - holly, beech, scots pine and oak. Brian Boru - the 175th and last high-king of Ireland, from 1002 until his death during the Battle of Clontarf (against the vikings) in 1014AD, was born and raised here, or nearby, according to folklore expert Daithi O hOgain. Boru - Bórumha or bóraimhe, means 'cattle tribute, and this place - Beal Boru or 'Béal Bóramha', can be translated as the 'port of the cattle tribute'.

Tucked away on the road between the Cliffs of Moher and Liscannor, St Brigit's Well never fails to amaze me. It's less of a Catholic site than a Chritian veneer on older beliefs - Brigit was never a saint, she was Brid, an ancient fire goddess, apparently.

Sitting prominently at the junction of the Ballyvaughan, Kilfenora and Corofin roads, Leamaneh castle is an impressive gothic pile stuck onto a tower house. It was once the home of the infamous Máire Rua who apparently outlived three husbands (and may have even dispatched one or two herself.

Did we dare cross this bridge? Spotted this last week while driving east from Ennis, Co. Clare. Ireland's own river Styx?
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Driving through Trim, Co. Meath yesterday, I spotted a flash of colour in the sky.... a hot air balloon. On the Dublin side of the town, we pulled in behind a 4WD and trailer sporting the name 'Irish Balloon Team', who are engaged in following the massive balloon as it drifted slowly across the landscape...

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Not the most exciting photographs - but I'm running around Dublin in the evening sunshine taking stock photographs - so here's my local tramline.... the 'Luas' - prounced like 'lewis'.

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I've always wondered why the bridge joining Capel St to Parliament Street is adorned with creatures that are half horse, and half fish.

Bank of Ireland, College Green
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People don't look up. Watch them on the street - they look ahead, or down at their feet as they daydream their way around town. I pace the streets looking at the sky, leaving myself vulnerable to tripping up or bumbing into people!
Here's a load of photographs from the skyscape of Dublin's Dame St.

I'd visited most of the major megalithic sites in Ireland, but somehow had never made it to Loughcrew, or as its also known Sliabh na Caillí - The Hill of the Witch. There's dozens of tombs scattered across two hills - Carnbane East and West, looking down upon the County Meath village of Oldcastle.

Was out on the Isle of Wight last week, sailing with some friends. We moored near the Folly Inn, up the river from Cowes on the River Medina. Early on Sunday morning, I was sitting out on deck, reading, when three beautiful Embden domestic geese approached the boat. I grabbed the telephoto lens and got these....