2023 Fireworks on Spike Island

Last night I attended the 85th Birthday Celebrations & Commemorations on Spike Island in Cork Harbour.

Eagle-eyed readers will already have seen the fireworks photo I posted to this page yesterday. Readers with even better eye sight will have noticed that I replaced the image I uploaded yesterday with a slightly different version today. Call it me being peculiar, but I wanted to edit the photo on my computer today and make the best of the image. The one that I uploaded yesterday came from minimal editing in Lightroom on my phone while we waited for the ferry.

From the Spike Island website,

At Spike Island, we’re celebrating our 85th birthday this year with our annual Family Fun Evening and Fireworks Display, marking the date when Spike Island was officially handed from Britain to Ireland in 1938. In honour of this momentous occasion, we’ll be celebrating our Independence Day with a spectacular fireworks display, musical performances and family fare on Saturday 8th July.
Visitors will board the ferry across the world’s second largest natural harbour, enjoy a guided tour on arrival, explore the fort’s amazing museums and exhibitions and walk the amazing island nature trails. On this special night, there will also be family entertainment, children’s activities,  pop-up musical performances, face painters and more.

To close the night, a fireworks display will launch 1300 fireworks into the sky over Cork Harbour, one for every inmate who died on the island in its three incarnations as a prison.

This year, to mark the 85th anniversary of the 1938 handover of the ‘Treaty Ports’ from Britain to Ireland, Spike Island is also hosting a new Handover Exhibition at Mitchel Hall featuring a newly added collection of original artefacts. Visitors will have the opportunity to view this exhibition telling the story of our independence on the evening of the celebrations event.

I booked my ticket late, so we arrived just before 8pm, did a tour of the fort, bought some food in the restaurant and settled down to wait until the fireworks started, accompanied by Strictly Cash, a Johnny Cash tribute band.

The fireworks went on for some time and were spectacular. We had a great time photographing them, and the images you see here are only a small selection of the images I shot.

The ferry back was supposed to be at midnight, but things got delayed. I think it might have been almost 1am by the time we reached Cobh. The rain held off all evening, until just after midnight, but luckily, I had an umbrella with me. Bizarrely, there was no sign of rain in Cobh at all!


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO400
Shutter speed1s

The Service at Coughlans Bar

Last Saturday night, I had the opportunity to see ‘The Service’ perform live at Coughlan’s Bar on Douglas Street, and I must say it was a truly unforgettable experience. The atmosphere created by the band’s performance of Ska music from the early 80s was electrifying, and the audience loved it.

For those unfamiliar with Ska music, it originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and became popular in the UK and Ireland during the 2 Tone movement in the late 1970s and early 80s. Ska is characterized by a syncopated beat, horn section, and upbeat tempo. It has been influential in the development of many modern music genres, such as reggae, punk rock, and hip-hop.

The Service’s performance was a tribute to this influential era of music, and they did an excellent job of capturing the energy and excitement of the genre. It’s impossible to listen to this music and not start bouncing up and down with the beat!


Apertureƒ/2.8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO8000
Shutter speed1/500s

The Buildings of the Lee Fields

The Old Cork Waterworks
County Hall
County Hall
Unfinished Student Accomodation
Unfinished Student Accommodation

From the very old buildings of the Cork Waterworks across the River Lee to County Hall built in the last fifty years to unfinished student accommodation on the old Coca-Cola bottling site.

Taken on a recent outing with Blarney Photography Club.


Apertureƒ/5
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length156.5mm
ISO200
Shutter speed1/160s

St. Patrick’s Day 2022

The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cork since 2019 and the rain held off for most of the day and a great parade was put on by the city.

The photos above don’t do it justice. I couldn’t include every group but hopefully it will be an indication of the effort put in by a huge number of people. Well done everyone who took part!


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length54mm
ISO1000
Shutter speed1/500s

A flash in the night

Just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit Ireland properly in late February 2020 Blarney Photography Club had an evening session dedicated to flash photography. I’ve already posted a couple of the photos from that night but here are a few more from the night of February 20th, 2020, or 2020-02-20!

Some Photos of Nano Nagle Place

A photography exhibit opened in Nano Nagle Place last Friday. A number of my photos are on display there and it was wonderful to see those them there and the photos of Cork by other photographers. Here’s a few photos of that evening!

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera ILCE-7M3
Focal length 26mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/500s

A visit to Malaga during Easter Week

If you visit Malaga during Easter Week you’ll soon become aware of the many processions that happen in the city. Young and old alike throng the city waiting patiently for processions to pass. They happen in the middle of the day, they happen at night. You can be walking down a road after dinner when you’ll hear drumming or a brass band in the distance and suddenly your way is blocked for the next ten minutes.

It’s amazing to see. Be prepared to take your time and take detours if you visit around Easter. 🙂


Aperture ƒ/4.5
Camera ILCE-7M3
Focal length 18mm
ISO 250
Shutter speed 1/250s

A Day Out on Sherkin Island

Sherkin Island is a small island just off the coast of Ireland. It’s reached by a ten minute ferry ride from the village of Baltimore in West Cork and on a sunny day there’s hardly a better place to be!

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 6D
Focal length 28mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/800s

The Historic Blarney Village

On Saturday last a new map was launched celebrating the heritage and history of Blarney in Co. Cork. A number of free events were put on during the day and a modest crowd showed up for what turned out to be a very entertaining hour walking around the square in the village. Here’s a few photos. If you missed it, you really missed out.

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 6D
Focal length 28mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/125s