Fitzwilliam place

May 6, 2020

I enjoyed my newly enlarged radius last night with a jaunt along the Grand Canal. This is a panoramic image of Fitzwilliam Place, comprised of six individual photos.

Fitzwilliam Place, from Leeson St. Lower

The building on the left is one I have long admired. No. 28 Fitzwilliam Place was built between 1854-5 to designs by the great Deane & Woodward for Hans Henry Hamilton, a lawyer related to Woodward by marriage.

Detail from above panoramic image at full resolution, indicating Hans Henry Hamilton’s initials in the brickwork

A nice detail to look out for are Hamilton’s initials in the brickwork on the southern elevation.

Image by Bryan O’Brien - The Irish Times

Feature - The Irish Times

May 3, 2020

I was delighted to have a little chat with Bryan O’Brien from The Irish Times as we rambled around Stoneybatter the other night.

I’ve always been dreadful in front of a camera…huge thanks to Bryan for putting me at ease and for his superb editing skills!

Stoneybatter

May 3, 2020

The derivation of the name Stoneybatter is interesting;

In the second century a 'Royal road', one of the five great roads of Ireland, stretched from Tara in Meath to Glendalough in Wicklow, crossing the river Liffey at the Ford of the Hurdles (near the present-day Liam Mellows Bridge).

Liam Mellows Bridge with the Joyce Bridge in the background

Looking north towards the Liam Mellows Bridge & Church St. beyond

Since this road was paved, which was a rarity at the time, it was known in Irish as Bothar-na-gCloch, or 'Road of the Stones'.

Walsh’s, on the corner of North Brunswick Street…back in happier times with the doors open.

Manor Street, with the Glimmerman (formally Lysters) - with its elaborate High Victorian facade, attributed to J. J. O’Callaghan

Georgian terrace on Manor St. - in the right is 83 Manor St., once the home of Austin Clarke, the celebrated Irish poet, now the home and workshop of luthier James Beatley

This subsequently changed over time, with the influence of the English, to become Stoney-Bothar, itself further corrupted to 'Stoneybatter'.

Australia bushfire fundraiser @ Whelans

January 27, 2020

A few shots from last Fridays fundraising gig in Whelans, in aid of those affected by the horrific Australian bush fires, with great performances on the night by Melanie Horsnell, Dáithí, John Byrne with Brian Mc Govern, Jaxson, Graham Mitchell, Varo, Grainne Hunt with Brendan Walsh, ULY, Niall Thomas, Old Sea Legs, Lemoncello, Ailbhe Reddy with Thumper, The Young Folk & Mundy.

Fair dinkum to all involved, especially to the ringmasters Solo Tones & John Byrne for pulling it all together, including the expertly ran raffle, with a rake of prizes, including one of my own pictures.

A Lazarus soul

October 31, 2019

A Lazarus Soul played to a packed-out Whelans last night, with a passionate performance that lived up to all the high expectations heaped upon it. They are a band at the very peak of their powers…it was a real pleasure to witness.

Brian Mooney provided support with a beautiful set of tunes, straight from the heart.

Macnas Halloween Parade

October 28, 2019

My head is still reeling from the experience of walking along the streets of Galway city last night, surrounded by the magic and mischief of Macnas and their ever-incredible Halloween Parade.

What sights and sounds, what a wonderous, magical atmosphere; more than 70,000 men, woman and children lined the streets…transfixed by the otherworldly vision passing by, like some dark cloud at the top of The Magic Faraway Tree.

Huge thanks to Lisa Regan for access, and huge thanks to Macnas for such a show. 🙌

I’ll be adding to this post over the next few days.

The view from this archway has barely changed in over 400 years

Rothe house

May 28, 2019

Standing on Parliament Street in Kilkenny, Rothe House is one of the few examples of late 16th and early 17th century merchant houses still surviving in the country. Over the last 60 years, the Kilkenny Archaeological Society has conserved the complex, consisting of three houses (dating respectively to 1594, 1604 and 1610) and the original burgage plot.

Plans illustrating the evolution of Rothe House from 1758-1999 - Taken from Rothe House Conservation Plan

Whilst the conservation works have been heavy-handed by modern standards, the complex today is remarkably faithful to the original and is, uniquely, open to the public.

Well worth a visit if you find yourself in Kilkenny.

The Phelan Room, what would have been Rothe’s main reception room

The magnificant Lanigan Room

Courtyard 2

Behind the third house are the gardens which ran all the way to the city walls and contained an orchard, herb and vegetable gardens, a dovecote, a well and a summer house.

See a video showing the building here

St. Mary’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Limerick

May 21, 2019

I’m not a religious guy but I always love the sense of history I feel within walls this old, the echoes of lives and stories that spaces like these bore witness to.

On the site where the palace of the late King of Munster, Donal Mór O’Brien once stood, Saint Mary’s Cathedral was founded in 1168 on King’s Island, the oldest part of Limerick. It is the oldest building in Limerick still in continuous daily use today.

The design has strong indications of both Romanesque and gothic styles of architecture with Romanesque arches and doorways and gothic windows. Like many medieval churches in Ireland, however, the building has been heavily ‘restored’ by the Victorians.

A modern day restoration project has been ongoing since 1996 to removed a thick concrete render finish which was applied to the entire interior at some stage. This seems to have lead to significant issues regarding damp in the stone walls.

The interior shows its medieval origins with its thick walls and piers supporting the wooden roof. Under the now largely removed render, the walls are relatively plain, having a rubble stone surface – any carvings or embellishments being kept for various screens and memorials set into the walls in numerous locations throughout.

In 1691, the Cathedral suffered considerable damage from cannon balls, particularly on the east end, during the Williamite Siege of Limerick. Two of these cannon balls can be seen hanging at the entrance to the splendid St. George’s Chapel, AKA the Perry Chapel

Despite the thickness of the walls, it is a remarkably bright space – due mainly to the large windows inserted during the various Victorian alterations.

*The statue of Bishop John Jebb by Edward Hodges Bail, in the Jebb Chapel or North Transept*

The oldest part of the graveyard around Saint Mary’s Cathedral dates from the 12th century, but the earliest burial records date from 1726. It is an active graveyard to this day.

See a much more in-depth analysis of the building here

Trinity College Dublin

May 15, 2019

I spent some time trying out day-time long-exposures around Trinity College. This piece is ‘The Youth Need to see their Greatness reflected in our eyes’, created by artist Joe Caslin to celebrate the launch of ‘Inspiring Generations’ Campaign for Trinity College Dublin - See a video on the piece’s creation here

Darkness into Light

May 13, 2019

Some from last weekend’s Darkness into Light walk, in the Phoenix Park, one of the more than 150 venues across Ireland where 200,000 people or so walked or ran to greet the rising sun.