Michael Mansfield of Ardmore, Co Waterford

Many years ago I published a few photos of Ardmore in Co Waterford. The post received a number of comments about one particular photo of a gentleman on a motorbike. His name was Michael Mansfield and unfortunately he passed away in 2009 but that hasn’t stopped the occasional visitor from leaving a comment since then, the most recent being yesterday.

That comment prompted me to look up the photos I made that day in 2005 to find more photos of Michael Mansfield. Here are the three I found, including the one that appeared in the original post.

Michael Mansfield

Michael Mansfield

Reading the comments I wish I had stopped to talk to Michael. He seems to have been quite the character around Ardmore!

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera CYBERSHOT
Focal length 25.1mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/500s

The Disappearance of Fungie

The disappearance of a single solitary dolphin in the year 2020 would seem to be small news among the horrible things that have happened this year. The pandemic is still raging. Ireland is in lockdown again. People are dying from Covid-19.

However, on October 20th it was reported that Fungie, a dolphin that first appeared in Dingle Bay, Co Kerry in 1983 was missing for 7 days.

For as long as I’ve been aware of Dingle, it has been synonymous with Fungie. He was hard to miss as there’s a statue in the town, and several boats lined the quays ready to take visitors out to see the friendly dolphin.

I went out once in 2017, and I saw him break the surface a few times but he wasn’t in the mood for playing at the time. You should have seen the packed boats of tourists trying to grab a glimpse of him. Thankfully our boat wasn’t as busy!

The last time I saw him was in August this year. My family and I walked out to Hussey’s Folly on a glorious evening where we sat in the grass watching the water, accompanied by several boats and kayakers.

There was the occasional shout when someone spotted him, and the delighted laughs and exclamations made it all worth it.

The next night we walked out by the small beach at Bín Bán. As night fell we heard splashes in the still water and spotted Fungie swimming back and forth just ten to twenty metres from shore. All was quiet. There was only my family and a passer-by around. It was very special hearing his splashes in the water.

Paddy Ferriter, keeper of the old lighthouse pictured above, was the first person to spot Fungie in 1983. He tells his story in a short clip here:

My photos of Fungie don’t do him justice. Follow these links for more:

Washington Post article on his disappearance.

There are wonderful videos of Fungie on this Facebook page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7sEG6WhPM

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera ILCE-7M3
Focal length 300mm
ISO 250
Shutter speed 1/320s

Waltzing at the fairground

The waltzers at the fairground in Dingle, Co Kerry last August.

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera ILCE-7M3
Focal length 68mm
ISO 3200
Shutter speed 1/500s

Music at Debenhams

Debenhams closed all their stores suddenly on April 9th 2020 when it’s parent company in the UK went into administration. Employees of the company continue to protest outside and until recently inside the Patrick Street location where this photo was made.

Aperture ƒ/10
Camera ILCE-7M3
Focal length 16mm
ISO 1000
Shutter speed 1/500s

Masks in Public Places

Masks in Public Places

Masks in Public Places

Masks in Public Places

The anti-mask crowd make a lot of noise but despite them people are still protecting themselves and others by wearing masks during this pandemic.

Aperture ƒ/3.5
Camera ILCE-7M3
Focal length 28mm
ISO 125
Shutter speed 1/500s