The Queen Elizabeth 2 is a British ship, and it’s likely that many of the passengers were British too. I spotted one large Union Jack flag draped over a railing and people on the ship waved mini Union Jack flags too. That sort of gets under the skin of many Irish people. A huge crowd…

The Queen Elizabeth 2, or QE2, flagship of the Cunard Line, docked for the last time in Cobh yesterday and left this evening just after 6pm. Here she is after turning in Cork Harbour and seconds before she increased speed and left the harbour for good. In 2009, she will become a floating hotel in…

Tir na nOg is the house on the right of this photo. It’s a house that Colaiste Ciaran, an Irish summer school on the island, rents during the summer and where I spent a number of weeks years and years ago. The long, low building attached to the left is a canteen. An Oige have…

Michael John (“Mick”) Collins (Irish: Mícheál Seán Ó Coileáin; 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently he was both Chairman of the Provisional…

San Francisco is 4884nm (nautical miles?) from Cape Clear in Co Cork. Have you noticed the misspelling yet? I never did until a few minutes ago!

Angela’s Shop and Coffee Dock in Fountainstown Co Cork. This shop has been at the beach in Fountainstown for the last 20 years (according to the owner) but I had never ventured inside until today. We were served lovely cups of tea which we enjoyed outside in the blazing sun. I had hoped to shoot…

Construction work on the building site between Emmett Place and Patrick Street in Cork continues at a pace. Despite the slow down in the economy high rise cranes can still be seen on the city skyline and are more prominent than the recently opened Elysian.

A tractor in the carpark at Allihies Beach in Co Cork.

Two tiny cottages sit on the quayside in Cape Clear’s North Harbour. You might have missed them when you arrived because they’re off in the opposite direction most people take. I was quite taken with the contrast between both cottages. While both are obviously old and have seen better days, the left one has a…

The hippies were out in force in Bishop Lucey Park on Saturday as the new age folk made their presence felt at a “Peace in the Park” mini festival. I have to admit to being just a little cynical at events like these. Thankfully tarot readers or aura photographers were nowhere to be seen, although…

The north harbour in Cape Clear is the main harbour on the island. There’s a south harbour as well but there’s only a small beach there, and a long quayside where the occasional small boat ties up. To the left you can see the Club which is a small shop/cafe on the ground floor, while…

A speedboat, at speed, races past the more sedate Naomh Ciaran II on our way to Oilean Cleire, or Cape Clear. You can see the island itself in the background!