Lights On at Youghal
The sun has almost set and still casts an orange glow on a clear sky. I was down at Youghal Beach facing the afterglow, and instead of the big dramatic sunset I half-expected, I got this: a clean gradient running from deep blue at the top to a warm orange seam along the horizon, the…
The Hut by the Old Railway
A chimney, a pitched roof, and a sky lit end to end. I caught this little hut alongside the old Youghal railway just as the light gave up for the evening, the blue overhead sliding down into a thin band of orange at the horizon. Two stretched-out lenticular clouds hung there like someone had smudged…
Stanley Super 800 Light Up the Savoy
Joe O’Leary of the band Fred. Stanley Super 800 Friday night at the Savoy, and the place was buzzing. Joe of the band Fred opened things up solo. It was just him, an acoustic, a red tee and a flat cap, perched in front of a wall of Orange amps that looked far too big…
Reflections on Emmett Place
I was standing on Emmett Place with my neck cricked at an awkward angle, trying to work out where the real sky ended and the reflected one began. Two people passed by and I’m sure they might have wondered what I was photographing with my head almost stuck to the window. Well, I’d noticed the…
The Old Shop at Myrtleville
The red building does the heavy lifting in this one. Squat, breeze-block, with a corrugated shutter rusting at its own pace and a smear of white graffiti for company. It used to be a shop. Hard to picture now, with the shutter pulled down for good and the paint going chalky, but at some point…
Blarney from Above in 2016
Blarney, from the secondary school and Woolen Mills to the Castle Digging through the archive I found these two aerial photos of Blarney from September 2016, and the first one stopped me. See those fields that border the houses on 3 sides? They’re now Cluain Ard with houses, gardens, driveways, the lot. Back then it…
Horse, Dog and a Quiet Hour on Silver Strand
We visited Sherkin Island more than ten years ago and walked the narrow road to the other side of the island, to Cow Strand and then on to Silver Strand. I’ve been back a few times since but I think this is the only time I saw a horse on the beach. It was a…
The wellness slogan and the whipped cream
I shot this on Princes Street in Cork back in 2016, and I had it filed in my head all this time as a Starbucks-versus-Starbucks gag. The wellness sermon in the window was contradicted by the Frappuccino in the hand. Turns out the window belongs to Rocket Man, a salad and juice bar, which means…
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,…