Eye of the Eagle
I spent a few minutes watching this white-tailed eagle do absolutely nothing, and it was riveting. It sat on its branch at Fota Wildlife Park like it owned the place which, fair enough, when you’re the largest bird of prey in Ireland, you probably do. The dark backdrop did me a favour here, throwing all…
Little Grebe, Smaller Grebe
I was visiting Fota Wildlife Park with Henry recently when he spotted these two in an enclosure and I genuinely cannot get over how small a little grebe chick is. It’s basically a wet pom-pom with an attitude. The adult, all chestnut throat and businesslike beak, was patrolling the surface and the chick paddled over,…
Dermot Henry at Cyprus Avenue
Dermot Henry @ Cyprus Avenue, Cork. I saw Dermot Henry perform at the Wavelength Rooftop Bar, attached to Cyprus Avenue, in Cork, last night. Folk music isn’t my usual cup of tea but Dermot’s got a great voice and judging by comments on his YouTube videos, a passionate following. The support singer was great too….
A Leg-up at Dawstown
The man in the blue jacket has both hands on the jockey’s left boot, mid heave, and number 37 is halfway between earth and saddle. It’s neither one place nor the other. I love the awkward physics of a leg-up. It looks ungainly until you remember it’s the only sensible way to get a small,…
A Siamang and Her Little Passenger
The siamang barely moved while I framed the shot. Two long arms hooked around the timber, and then a bundle of jet-black fur with two enormous eyes peering up. I’d wandered over to Fota’s gibbon island half-expecting the usual whooping chorus, but instead caught this quieter scene: mum holding her ground in a patch of…
The Patient Watchers of Fota Wildlife Park
Two herons, two very different moods. The first one had clambered up into the bare branches like it owned the place, scruffy chest plumes blowing about and that sharp yellow eye scanning the park below. The second was posing in profile on the netting above one of the enclosures, side-lit by late sun that caught…
Paul Young and Jamie Moses, eyes closed and lost in it
I had a fifth-row seat for Paul Young at St. Luke’s last night. It was sold out, so it was worth getting in early for the “From No Parlez to The Secret Of Association” tour. The clue was in the billing: this was pitched as intimate conversation plus acoustic versions, not a greatest-hits run-through. Judging…
The Diego Effect at Bantry Market
You can tell a dog has just walked past by the geometry of the smiles. Two heads turning at the same angle, the kid in the patterned fleece still oblivious, a smoothie stall behind them advertising Mango Mix and Berry Bliss like it’s any other Friday. Diego is a small chihuahua and entirely unaware that…
A Quiet Evening in Kinsale
Even on a calm evening when I took this photo, a moored boat moves about if given enough time. This long exposure shows the slight movements that show the water isn’t quite as still. There’s no wind to speak of, the surface looks like polished slate, and yet the boat is nodding away to itself,…
Eye of the Bison
I didn’t know there were bison at Fota Wildlife Park, but near the end of my walk there with Henry we stopped at a field containing these large beasts! I wonder if they were overheating in their winter coats in the warm April sunshine, but I suspect the cold wind that blew through at intervals…
When a Building Came Down
August 2009, Castle Street in Cork. A building that had been under renovation gave up and came down, taking a chunk of the terrace with it and flattening a silver Peugeot 206 that had the misfortune ofbeing parked on the pavement. The roof is caved in like a tin can someone stood on, with a…
Elvis the Taxi Driver
Derry “Elvis” Coughlan is a local taxi driver in Cork. Here he was on St. Patrick’s Street in 2021. He was walking towards an older man with bags of shopping who would probably need a lift home. I don’t think I’ve seen Derry around since then. Not someone who appears to have an online presence…