Irish Lights Boat

I loved seeing Granuaile when we lived in the North; her Tricolour flying at the stern being a reminder of a community and a country beyond ours, and her presence a reminder that our island was surrounded by seaways that went far beyond our horizons.

In fading memory

The Wilde family memorial at Mount Jerome is close to the entrance to the crematorium chapel. The front panel commemorates Sir William Wilde, the side panel his wife Jane.

The second child is "Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, Poet, Wit and Dramatist." The lettering is fading.

Dun Laoghaire, 3rd February

Saint Brigid's Day on 1st February marked the beginning of spring. Dun Laoghaire East Pier yesterday felt like summer.

Alpbach

We left Ireland for sunny Austria last week.

We thought the friend who told us that the plane flew down a valley to land at Innsbruck airport was joking









The valley was occupied not only by the airport, but also by a lot of buildings












The view from our balcony offered the prospect of a week of good skiiing












When I was a kid a view like this was only available on a muesli box












The Celtic monks revangelized this area of Europe in the Dark ages - the church is dedicated to St Oswald, a Northumbrian saint.
















The heavy grey clouds promised snow that never came












Christmas decorations remain in place until Candlemas - Saint Oswald's crib had some unlikely inclusions.











The ornateness of the early-18th Century church was enough to give a low church Protestant like myself palpitations!











Saint Oswald's shone out on the skyline at night


















Spring was in the air by the time we were leaving - unfortunately for the resort, winter had hardly arrived

Joyce Centenary Memorial at Sandycove

The fascinating thing about the memorial stone is that the inscription underneath the quotation from Ulysses, giving details of the stone's unfurling, is in upper case letters and takes more space than the words from Joyce.

Santa train

On the DART from Pearse, we passed a steam locomotive pulling a train for a Christmas special.

I read recently of the state of Irish railways in the last days of steam - even Lansdowne Road station was down to two two trains stopping there each day. Places that are busy now, like Sydney Parade, were closed completely in 1960.

Nostalgia is a great thing - as long as it remains in the past.

Tom Kettle

I paid my respects to Tom Kettle as I passed him in Saint Stephen's Green yesterday.

The poppy wreath laid on 30th September is still there.

Perhaps at some date in the future there will be a fuller acknowledgement on the memorial of the complexity of Tom Kettle and his times.

If you live on a very expensive middle class road and drink fruit juice in preference to fizzy stuff, why would you stuff your litter into a niche in a wall?

Is 'SOS' a necessary consequence of trying get public transport information?

Head of the Sea instead of Speckled Town

Kerry, 30th October 2006

Phone box at Sneem
















Kerry, 30th October 2006

Derrynane Strand

(It's raining and there's a wind in our faces, but it's Bank Holiday Monday and we must enjoy it)








Kerry, 30th October 2006

Charlie Chaplin at Waterville
















Kerry, 30th October 2006

Looking east from Waterville











Kerry, 30th October 2006

Guinness sign at Waterville
















Kerry, 31st October 2006

Weighbridge at Knightstown, Valentia











Kerry, 31st October 2006

Clock at Knightstown, Valentia











Kerry, 31st October 2006

Railway sign at Knightstown, Valentia.

(I know - the railway never got to Valentia, but the sign is good)








Kerry, 31st October 2006

Mainland from Valentia











Kerry, 31st October 2006

Grotto at Valentia Slate Quarry











Kerry, 1st November 2006

Looking south from Ladies View











Kerry, 1st November 2006

Looking north from Ladies View.











Kerry, 1st November 2006

Hills at Ladies View











Kerry, 1st November 2006

View from the house across the Kenmare River towards the mountains on the way to Killarney.










Kerry, 2nd November 2006

If you don't do one, can you do the other?











Kerry, 2nd November 2006

Looking seawards from Kenmare Pier











Kerry, 2nd November 2006

Bridge over the Kenmare River











Kerry, 2nd November 2006

On Kenmare Pier











Kerry, 2nd November 2006

Kenmare blue lamp











Kerry, 2nd November 2006

Kenmare Post Office
















Kerry, 2nd November 2006

Fish crates on a jetty on the Beara peninsula - they come in patriotic colour combinations!

The laughter was so loud, I stopped and looked over the wall. Four white haired men were wedged into a bench telling stories. Maybe they did this every day.

They would pause occasionally and watch the sea.

Retirement seemed to be an anticipation of heaven.

Wandering along near dark, I met a strange bloke

Colours and shades and textures make the mundane special

I thought Fionn mac Cumhaill might be able to play backgammon with dice the size of those on a railway station poster.

The bridge at Sydney Parade station always has a vaguely sinister feel!

Prison courtyard? No, it's the front garden through the laundry window.

The laundry used to be the kitchen - there must have been some valuable stuff in the larder!

If we're depending on the angels in our struggle against darkness and evil, I kind of hope that they are more robust than the wimpish figures who appear in the stained glass windows!

It's Monday, 2nd October - this is the last rose of summer.