I was there too
If that couple were to walk along the Grand Parade now they’d be in the middle of a busy street but back in August last year it was still a building site.
Wondering what Cork looked like over 20 years ago? Take a look at these photos!
| Aperture | ƒ/11 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/320s |
Just outside the Peace Park on Grand Parade in Cork an exuberant teenager went running towards me and I was lucky enough to grab this shot before they ran past!
| Aperture | ƒ/11 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/320s |
The Tour Bus just left without me! An open top bus brings tourists around the city, where to? I’m not sure, I’ve never taken it!
This was on Grand Parade about 9 months ago. The plastic dividers in the middle of the street are now gone and where that bus is driving is now pavement, with the odd road works still going on.
| Aperture | ƒ/10 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
Fianna Fail, “The Republican Party”, had an office on the Grand Parade in Cork for years. Last time I looked the building was derelict. Anyone want to compare the state of their Cork office to their policies or chances in the next election?
Fianna Fail have been in power almost continuously for as long as I remember and before that of course. Will you vote for them?
This is next door to no 48 pictured yesterday.
I like this: May Day in California. Great street shots.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/160s |
No. 48 on Grand Parade Cork is an old disused building near the Goat Broke Loose. It’s also next door to the old location of Fianna Fail’s Cork office.
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
In my younger days when I was out on the town on a Friday or Saturday night with the rest of the crowd, “The Goat Broke Loose” was an occasional watering hole for me and my friends. It started out well, with a good mix of customers, although if memory serves there were a lot of preening ladies there too interested in looking in a mirror to notice a poor altruistic open source developer like myself!
In later years the pub became known as a place where a younger clientèle would gather to drink. Unfortunately for them it closed a few years ago but they all moved on of course to a new spot. I suspect it will be redeveloped because it is right next to the now closed Grand Parade Hotel and the City Library which is going to get a major new make over in the coming months if planning goes through.
Munsterpubs.com has a less than glowing review of the Goat but it’s pretty much spot-on. You can see the Goat in the background of Your mom knows kung fuu.
Well, that was strange. I published my post and the url to my image changed. I had to copy/paste it from it’s Flickr page again. First time that’s happened.
Links I like:
| Aperture | ƒ/5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
Ireland played England in rugby at Croke Park yesterday, and Ireland won, 43 points to 13!
This was an historic occasion. Landsowne Road, where rugby and soccer matches are normally played is being renovated. Croke Park is the headquarters of the GAA, the native Irish sports of football and hurling. Playing “foreign sports” there was like someone desecrating holy ground. Not that that stopped American football being played there a few years ago. I guess some sports are more foreign than others. It literally took years for this to happen. I kid you not. Year after year, the issue of “foreign sports” came up at GAA meetings and it was only recently they allowed them in. Bravo!
Anyway, to pile insult upon injury, the first second rugby game there would be Ireland vs England. Republican supporters were up in arms during the week. “800 years!” “Bloody Sunday!” “1916!” “Black and Tans!” Imagine, “God Save The Queen” would be played in Croke Park? It’s hard to fathom but it’s all over now.
This is the closest I got to the match. We were in town, I wandered around a bit with my camera before heading home and watched a DVD, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. What a wacky film. I loved it! Yes, I don’t have much of an interest in sport.
| Aperture | ƒ/4.5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
Waiting at the traffic lights, the camera can still see you, even if it’s not pointed in your direction. Those are the buildings of the Grand Parade in Cork behind her.
| Aperture | ƒ/3.5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
A kissing couple outside Finn’s clothing store on the corner of Grand Parade and Washington Street, Cork. This was way back in August last year when temperatures were a little higher than they are now.
Psychedelic colouring comes from the “soft light” plasma layer I plastered on top of the original black and white layer.
Edit: of course this is “Finn’s Corner”. I must have been half-asleep when I wrote the title of this post. Thanks to Mykel C for commenting, and Tony Finn for getting touch and correcting me. It’s much appreciated!
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/320s |
I’ve been bursting to tell everyone for the last few months that in 2007 I will become a father!
Jacinta, my wife, is pregnant and she’s due in the middle of April! We’re very excited about it but also nervous. We don’t want to know or care if the baby is a boy or a girl. A healthy baby is all we want. Guys – look out for the book, “A bloke’s guide to pregnancy”. It’s a great read, very entertaining and will explain a bit about what to expect and what’s going in your partner’s body! Now you know why I was more than a little interested in who was pregnant on Today FM!
Don’t be surprised if my blogging slows down a little bit around April, but I will try and have about 2 months of photos ready to be posted for late April and on to May. Hopefully things may quieten down and get into a routine after that.
And now I can reveal the only event that marred what was a great year in 2006. The main reason I didn’t attend the Irish Blog Awards last year was because Jacinta was pregnant at the time and the pregnancy wasn’t going so well. Unfortunately, she had a miscarriage soon after.
I find that miscarriage is a taboo subject to talk about. Very few bloggers will talk about it even though 1 in 4 pregnancies will probably not go full-term. Maybe it’s superstition and considered tempting fate to even bring the subject up. Whatever the reason, it’s an awful tragedy for expectant parents to go through.
Happy new year!
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
Pedestrians gather at the traffic lights on Grand Parade and wait to cross a busy city-center street. Yes I got a few funny looks as I crouched down with my camera but I’m used to it by now!
This was a construction site a few months ago but work is progressing well and most of the work is done.
This was an entry in the MCC Patterns around us competition a few weeks back.
The city shoot last night with the club was a great success. I didn’t have a tripod with me and in the dark that posed a challenge sometimes but at other times it was a blessing. There’s enough street furniture to rest a camera on if needed.
| Aperture | ƒ/9 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
If looks could kill! I don’t know who she was looking at but she doesn’t look happy!
Pictured on the corner of Washington Street and Grand Parade a few days ago while we waited for the traffic lights to change. Finn’s Corner, a sports clothes shop, has been on that corner for years and St. Augustine’s Catholic Church is visible just down the road. I’ve never been in that church despite it’s central location. It’s so well integrated into the street scape that it’s easy to forget it’s there.
| Aperture | ƒ/10 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
