This is my favorite photo of Irish Sea I have taken so far. I like the clouds. This photo shows the view from the Howth peninsula.
Bookmark to:
Archive for the 'Photos' Category Page 4 of 6
There haven’t been so many photos posted on my blog recently. It doesn’t mean that I am not taking the photos at all. I do. In this post and the some future ones I am going to show some of my photos in a thematic order.
The first topic - Irish trees. They are just different compared to the trees I know from Poland. I am impressed of those standing alone with crooked branches. Every time I am looking at them, the stories or fairy-tales come to my mind.
One of my favorite trees I have seen so far in Ireland, stands alone in the middle of the field in the outskirts of Tullamore. I posted this photo to one of the photo and art web communities - and I entitled this “souls devourer” and wrote very short story about it, but I think it is a good idea to write a bit more words in the future.
Here it is - the photo (click to enlarge) and my short story:
Souls Devourer: During the dark cold days , on the grey winter fields of Ireland appear standing alone souls devourers in ambush for children that break the ban, and after Samhain or Hallowe’en they are still going to the fields to eat rotten blackberries. Tree-like monsters wave their enormous arms and they can consume the soul of a careless child in the twinkling of an eye.
Another photos of trees that I like very much I took near Carlow. Here is one example (was presented on my blog about 6 or 7 months ago).
Bookmark to:
On the very same day we visited Cliffs of Moher we hit the Burren to see some of its ancient monuments - the most known Irish dolmen at Poulnabrone. I must admit, the dolmen and its surroundings are very scenic place. It is amazing that Burren is so rich in Neolithic and Iron age sites like dolmens, cairns and ringforts.
Poulnabrone Dolmen
We stopped for a while at the drystone Iron age ringfort. All Iron age ring forts are very interesting to me, due to relatively similar topic of my master thesis that concerns Atlantic Scotland round houses - especially Broch Towers.
Ring fort close to the Poulnabrone - an Irish example… and…
a complexed roundhouse example - Broch Tower at Gurness, Orkney, Scotland (I took this photo about 8 years ago)
Bookmark to:
Last Saturday I took a trip to an early Christian monastery at Cluain Mhic N??is ?Äï Clonmacnoise.
The first monastery ?Äï made of wood - on the bank of Shannon River was founded by St. Ci?°ran about year 545. Unfortunately, St. Ci?°ran died shortly after founding the monastery. During the next 4 or 5 centuries this religious and cultural center was growing rapidly despite of being plundered couple of times both by the king of Cashel and by the Vikings who settled on the Lough Ree.
!0th century oratory a place of possible St. Ci?°ran’s grave
Each monastery was an independent religious and cultural and power center and sometimes they fought against each other. In the year 764 there was a battle between Clonmacnoise monastery and St Colmcille monastery in Durrow (co. Offaly). During that time Irish Christianity was almost independent and for sure wasn?Äôt a Catholicism. There were different holidays dates, different cloaks and haircuts to the catholic monks. Moreover ?Äï the Irish saints wasn?Äôt an angels ?Äï St Colmcille as a head of the clan Conail with a help of Connaught waged a war on the High King Diarmait that leaded to king?Äôs defeat and dead of 3 thousand men.
In the beginning of 10th century the main church (later it gained cathedral status) was erected and one of the famous high crosses was founded too. Later, in 12th century two round towers appeared, but the highest one has been damaged by the struck of lightning. It may have been taken as a religious sign, especially when a couple of years later another lightning destroyed a St. Ci?°ran?Äôs tree and killed many sheep that took a shelter during the storm.
Since end of 12th century the monastery had been loosing its importance and power due to the growing anglo-norman force in the area, and finally has fallen into ruin after the barbaric Cromwell?Äôs war.
Today the monastery is a scenic ruins and cemetery. Unfortunately (yet again) it is very hard to get over there without a car. There are no buses ?Äï or if there is one then there is no information about that ?Äï from Athlone or Birr. The only way is to leave the bus from Nenagh to Athlone at Ballinahown and walk 10 km. I tried to get a lift, but hitchhiking is not a good idea in Ireland. It is not the worst, but there are a few better countries for hitchhiking (Scotland, England, Holland, Germany and Poland). Luckily I got a lift two times, from the middle of the way to Clonmacnoise and from Ballinahown to Birr.
Anyway, walking the way through out a peat land with dreary brown plains scarred with rails of the peat industry was also a good experience.
Abandoned trolley
There is another thing worth to be writen: I met a Gaeilge couple. That was the 2nd couple of Irish speakers I have met so far in Ireland.
Bookmark to:
Since I moved to Nenagh I haven?Äôt visited Killaloe so often. That?Äôs why I am trying to take every chance to get there. Last Sunday there was opportunity due to the soccer game between two Polish teams ?Äï representations of two Irish archaeology companies.
I targeted 13th century St Flannans Cathedral and the monuments hidden inside. The most important one is Romanesque portal taken from pieces of a couple of ones and built together into a church wall.
Another historic monument is a massive, but not tall, both runic and ogham stone. While the ogham is not so clearly visible the runic inscription is very well preserved and it means that Viking Thorgrim has carved those runes. This stone was probably erected by Thorgrim himself in the memory of his convertion to Christianity. This is a good example of Viking assimilation and integration with Gaelic Celtic native folk.
It is also not very hard to find a 3 or more meters tall stone cross rebuilt from pieces founded somewhere nearby Killaloe.
Worth of interest is early medieval baptismal font or just a holy water stone vessel.
Just aside of cathedral, 12th century St. Flannans oratory with nice Romanesque portal, stands at the cemetery.
After visiting cathedral I went towards Lough Derg to visit Bael Boru ?Äï ring ford, a property of the great, and probably only one king of Ireland ?Äï Brian Boru.
Walking on the bank of river Shannon and on the little streets of Killaloe I have realised that the autumn has come for sure
Bookmark to:
Recent Comments