Wild Woodbine, an advert in Cronins Pub, sits under the counter. The pub is full of memorabilia which adds atmosphere but I suppose they were probably bought in a dusty warehouse full of such things for the tourists. Very nice pub though.

The statue of Father Mathew, the “Apostle of Temperance”, is a prominent landmark in Cork City. It’s at one end of St. Patrick Street looking north to the river. Some joker gave him a yoyo to pass the time.. More on Wikipedia.

If accompanied by a cigarette, any kind of good food isn’t going to help your increased risk of getting cancer from smoking. Shot on Carey’s Lane a few weeks ago. The girl who left the cigarettes came back a moment after I took this shot. Have you noticed that more women smoke than men? Is…

The Queen Elizabeth 2 took several minutes to turn in the harbour outside Cobh in Co Cork. Plenty of spectators watching from boats as the sun started to sink behind the horizon.

Barack Obama’s family probably had some help from America’s Secret Service when they moved from Chicago to Washington but for the rest of us, that journey would be a lot more mundane and would involve the services of a company like Hollander. Photographed somewhere in Chicago in May 2005. PS. Thank you if you nominated…

This morning we woke up to the sight of snow falling. As it was still only 6am and dark outside the floodlight in the back garden picked out the falling snow beautifully. As it was still only 6am I was too tired/half asleep to go back upstairs to get my camera. Luckily it snowed later…

Dan Lowrey’s Tavern on Mc Curtain Street, scene of our brush with car trouble yesterday. It was a stroke of luck we found parking just outside this pub! I’d write more, but my head is stuffy, my sinuses are blocked and I’m feeling under the weather. Hope my car is repaired tomorrow!

I’m glad my wife Jacinta insisted we join AA Ireland. I’ve had over 15 years of almost trouble free driving (ok, the electrics in my Alfa 147 died once, but stopping and starting the engine fixed that, and it’s an Alfa Romeo, what do you expect?) but this morning as we drove into town and…

A modified car is pushed down Pana by the driver’s friends and a helpful passerby. When the engine finally coughed into life the oversize exhaust pipe emitted a very loud roar and his friends jumped in and sped off. My wife Jacinta passed her driving test today. She drove us to the test center in…

A sticker on a lamp post on Parliament Bridge in Cork encourages racists fools to follow their leader, with an image of Hitler blowing his brains out. Shot almost a month ago.

If you see a photographer on the street be sure to give him a big thumbs up, he’ll take a photo of you and publish it on the Internet!

Victoria’s Secret on Prince’s Street, Cork are having a sale! Get in there now! Actually, I’ve never been in there. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching (well, it’s only a month away but some shops are already advertising it), I wonder if they’ll have a brisk trade?