My Soul.I summon to the winding ancient stair;Set all your mind upon the steep ascent,Upon the broken, crumbling battlement,Upon the breathless starlit air … WB Yeats Named after the Yeats poem and staircase, the Winding Stair Bookshop and Café overlooking the River Liffey and Ha’penny bridge became a famous Dublin landmark in the 1970s andContinue reading “Winding Stair”
Tag Archives: Ireland
Old Friends
To reminisce with old friends, a chance to make some memories…
Beckett’s Reprise
“Moonlight is sculpture: seen and easily discerned in good composition like a suspension bridge, where each line adds strength and takes none away.” The exquisite lines of the Samuel Beckett Bridge, designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava, crossing the River Liffey in Dublin under a cloud moonlit sky.
The Samuel Beckett Bridge
Under a rare cloudless blue sky, the exquisite lines of the Samuel Beckett Bridge over the River Liffey in Dublin. Designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava, it’s his second bridge over the Liffey, the first being the James Joyce Bridge that shares a literary connection in more ways than one…
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,And live alone in the bee-loud glade. And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,Dropping from the veils of the morning toContinue reading “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”
Megalithic Dolmen
The sun sets eerily behind the Knockeen Portal Tomb, a megalith near Tramore in County Waterford, Ireland. Over 3.5 metres high, it’s the largest dolmen in County Waterford and one of the finest examples in Ireland, albeit unclear exactly what it was used for…
Summer Solstice
Today is the Summer Solstice. A day that’s been observed in Ireland for thousands of years…
Life Savers
Early morning and “Doris Bleasdale”, the Clogherhead Lifeboat completes a beach landing near its base in County Louth, Ireland.
Faded Glory
Altamont house with its glimmers of its faded glory and resident peacock, emanates a warm and inviting glow as if it grew in the gardens.
Silver Water Droplets
Low winter sunlight cutting through the trees pierces the water droplets over the fountain in the Millenium Park in Lismore in County Waterford, Ireland. The town is renowned for its early ecclesiastical history and the imposing Lismore Castle overlooking the town and the Blackwater valley.
The Prettiest Urinals – Ever!
Falling into the category of “Looscapes” or bathroom photography, these splendid floral creations are to be found in the gentleman’s toilet of a garden centre (where else!) in Ireland’s County Carlow.
The Atlantic
From Ireland’s County Clare Coast…sea area Shannon…shipping forecast…visibility “good”
Harvest Seeker
The “Harvest Seeker”, drifting in the ethereal early morning light while collecting Mariner’s Mussels from baskets moored on the sea bed of Waterford Harbour, a natural harbour at the mouth of three rivers.
Architectural Points 2
The iconic roof of the new museum opened near the entrance of Dublin’s Glasnevin cemetery, soars heavenwards; and below, a marble wall reflecting a Celtic cross.
Architectural Points 1
The contemporary architecture of Dublin City Council’s Civic Offices. Built on Wood Quay, the scheme caused disquiet amongst conservationists, when it became apparent that the entire plot was a major archaeological site, the very core of the Viking settlement over which Brian Boru had lost his life in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
The Orangery
Still in gardens, the elegant Orangery stands in gardens laid out in the first half of the nineteenth century at Fota House in County Cork, another house with a long history.
The Potting Shed
Appearing forgotten and neglected in a corner of a walled garden, the old shed is a fitting metaphor for the latter years of Strokestown House Demesne in County Roscommon.
Shabby Boat
Vintage, crackled, shabby paint effects on an old clinker built rowing boat in the harbour at Helvick, located in An Rinn within the Irish speaking Gaeltacht na nDeise area in County Waterford, Ireland.
Winter Sun
…floods through a window in St Patrick’s Cathedral, to illuminate one of the statues of the 18th century great and good of Dublin.
Shadows and Reflections
Bicycles amidst contemporary architecture in Modern Dublin
George Munday Creative 