Early Saturday morning a few weeks ago we gathered to photograph deer as the sun rose. Walking through the forest in Killarney National Park we spotted a group of deer. The light was terrible. I’m sure this was shot at ISO 12800 to get a crisp image and I’m really happy with it.
This group of deer stayed in the forest away from curious humans for the rest of the morning, though we could hear this stag bellowing several times off in the distance.
The Banks of the Lee were quite different by the Peace Park in 2004. Trees and shrubs obscured the river from the small park. It looks so different now.
I shared a couple of photos of The Undertones last year but since they’re coming back to Cork next year and tickets just became available I decided to go look through the shots from that night again. They are fantastic, and I’m looking forward to seeing them again when they visit Cork.
The atmosphere in Cyprus Avenue is electric, and the lighting is so atmospheric and dazzling. Great venue for a gig.
The Undertones formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1974 and became one of the most important bands to emerge from the late 1970s punk movement. Their debut single “Teenage Kicks” (1978) was famously championed by legendary BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who called it his favourite song of all time and requested it be played at his funeral (it was). What makes The Undertones particularly notable is that they emerged from Derry during the height of the Troubles, yet their music deliberately avoided political themes, instead focusing on universal teenage experiences like romance, frustration, and growing up. This made them hugely influential in showing that Northern Irish bands didn’t have to be defined by the conflict. The band’s current lineup still features four of the five original members, though original lead singer Feargal Sharkey left in 1983. They reformed in 1999 with new vocalist Paul McLoone and have been touring consistently since, proving that great punk rock ages remarkably well!
I love this mural showing various sights around Cork City. It’s just off Paul Street and well worth a look. The artist, Garreth Joyce, painted it in 2023.
The mural, “What is Home?” by the artist Asbestos, at the end of South Main Street, in Cork. As seen through the ring of a nearby life buoy hanging on a pole.
Twenty years ago Emmett Place in Cork was full of skateboarders jumping over ramps and very very close to a couple of photographers like me. I got some nice shots of them that have appeared here over the years but I missed this one, somehow!
Twenty years ago. Cork in 2005. I wonder where they are now?
Kinsale’s tidy towns group must work overtime and they do a fantastic job of keeping the town tidy and colourful. These flowers were in a small boat at the end of the quay and make the area look so pretty.
I travelled to Kerry this morning to photograph the rutting in Killarney National Park there. There weren’t many stags to be seen but this fellow was lying in the middle of a field I suspected would have a stag or two. After a few moments he stood up, digging his antlers in the grass and tossed his head from side to side with grass flying everywhere.
Despite the dramatic behaviour, he looked over at the human photographers again and lay down, chewing some grass and ignored us once more.
If you’ve ever been to Kinsale in Co Cork, you’ll immediately recognise the house and tree in the picture above. If you go back in my archives you’ll probably find a photo of it from another angle, but it’s so nice I thought I should take another photo. 🙂
TIL that style of large, spreading tree you see dominating this Kinsale scene is likely a Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani), which became incredibly fashionable to plant on Irish estates during the Georgian and Victorian periods. These trees were imported from the eastern Mediterranean and became status symbols for wealthy landowners. Having a mature Cedar of Lebanon on your property basically announced “we’ve been here long enough to grow something this impressive.” They can live for over 1,000 years and develop those distinctive horizontal, layered branches that make them instantly recognisable. The tree in this photograph is probably 150-200 years old based on its size and shape, meaning it was likely planted sometime in the early to mid-1800s when Kinsale was thriving as a fishing port and naval base. So that tree has essentially witnessed the entire modern history of the town!
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