Daily Blog

The day started wet and cloudy and it looked very unlikely that I would get any pictures yesterday. But it started to brighten up around 2pm which gave me just enough time to visit Urlaur Abbey. The blue sky you can see in the picture was only visible for about fifteen minutes, then grey cloud returned.

Despite all the rain during the night the morning cleared and so I decided to make the trip to Cong Abbey anyway. I was rewarded by this picture of the winter sunlight streaming through the Eastern facing doors in the ruined abbey.

The rain continues, during the night we had so much rain I would be surprised if the roads are not flooded this morning, it looks like my trip to Cong Abbey may be postponed for yet another day. in the meantime her is a picture of Murrisk Abbey on a day when I was giving out because it was too sunny!!!

It poured rain all day yesterday which put paid to my plans to visit Cong Abbey, and the forecast does not look great for today either,. So I am posting a picture of Moyne Abbey taken last Sunday. I had arrived at the Abbey in very cloudy weather,I had already photographed the outside, but was photographing the inside of the Abbey when the cloud lifted and the sun came out, so I went back across the field to get this picture before returning to the inside.

Pat a regular visitor to my website page requested a picture of Turlough abbey, here is a distant view!!

Yesterday I was in Errew Abbey near Crossmolina, it was my first time visiting and its an interesting abbey, if not as spectacular as some of the others. I had packed up the tripod and put the camera in the camera bag when I looked up to make my way to the entrance when I saw this picture, beautifully framed in the main entrance (I know it looks like a window,but it in fact a half blocked entrance . So out with the camera and tripod again !!!!

Yesterday I was telling you about washing my face at St Deirbhile's well. As I did, there was a small piece of colour in the sky over Achill Island. So I waiting around for about fifteen minutes and the colours developed , the whole thing lasted about ten minutes, but this was the view from St Deirbhile's well.

Yesterday I continued my trip around the abbeys and churches. So I visited Killala, Doonfeeney near Ballycastle and St Deirbhiles Church on the very tip of the Mullet Peninsula . This picture shows the church and the saints tomb. After photographing the church I visited the Well of St Deirbhile a short distance away. There is a lot of folklore and traditions around the many holy wells and I was told that if you washed your eyes with the water from this well you would never go blind ! I dont normally pay much heed to these tales , but as I looked across at Achill Island I thanked God for my sight and thought a little wash of my face would do no harm!!

It poured rain all day yesterday, but our spirits were not dampened ! We spent the day in Sligo where my wife Patricia was conferred with a DIPLOMA IN APPLIED THEOLOGY , much deserved after all her hard work , so I hope you will forgive me for sharing a personal picture today rather then a landscape. Well Done Trisha!!!

I was photographing abbeys again yesterday ! I revisited Murrisk, spent a couple of hours at Burrishoole and all afternoon at Ballintubber, photographing the interior of the abbey. As I was driving home the moon was rising so I stopped at Craggagh, just outside Kiltimagh and made this picture.

I have another abbey for you today. I took this photograph of Ballintubber Abbey yesterday evening. Ballintubber is probably the most famous of Mayo's Abbeys, because it has remained a place of worship since it was founded in 1216, this despite several attempts to destroy it. It is a very popular place for weddings.

The monks were great at choosing sites for their monasteries ! This is Rosserk Abbey, photographed on Monday evening. I was delighted because I had planned the photograph and knew I had to be there at 3.30pm to get the tide and the sun in the right place. Sunset was due at 5pm so I thought anytime between 3.30and 4.30 would be fine. I nearly delayed at another location but decided not to. Anyway I reached Rosserk at 3.30 but found that the sun was going to set behind a small hill ,I had not allowed for this in my calculations. So I had to clamber across the shoreline to get to my spot, giving me about ten minutes before the sun disappeared behind the little hill!

Last evening I was at Rosserk Abbey near Kilalla. Rosserk was one of the landing places for the French in the rebellion of 1798, the sun had set in the West, when through the Eastern window I could see the moon rising ! I remembered my school days and learning the rebel song "Tis the rising of the moon" which commemorated the rebellion of "98 !

A lovely morning in Mayo!! Foggy but the sun is burning through fast !

I really should not have complained about yesterday's blue skies !I was out early this morning to photograph St Mary's Abbey near Claremorris, I had visited yesterday early but the abbey could not be seen as it was completely covered in early morning fog, this morning there was no fog, just low cloud and absolutely no sunshine, the abbey just blended into the hillside behind it, i did not make a picture. Todays picture was taken several weeks ago and shows a fisherman, who actually caught a salmon at Ashleagh Falls.

I am not a great fan of plain blue skies, I was out early this morning and it was a beautiful morning, but I do like to have a few clouds in the sky!! Even though I posted a picture of a reflection a few days ago I was passing the same lough just outside Kilkelly this morning and there was a perfect reflection so I stopped. In the few minutes it took me to set up the camera and compose the picture the temperature rose enough to allow a very slight breeze to come across the lough and the reflections were gone ! I did get a tiny cloud though!!

Its a lovely morning in Mayo, bright sunshine and lifting fog. This picture , taken on a similar kind of day, was taken near lough Fiach, I love the way Croagh Patrick seems almost suspended !

Another cloudy day here, I was going to photograph the sunrise, but the sun didn't appear, the sun has just broken through for the first time a few minutes ago so maybe things are improving. Todays picture is of a "sunset " behind Croagh Patrick.

I was teaching a one to one class again this morning and this evening I have a night class in Claremorris, it is our first night doing computers so it should be fun!!The change in time to winter time has really shortened the afternoons! and the weather is pretty miserable just now so I went back to the archives for todays picture. It is a panorama made up of ten individual images stitched together in photoshop. The print measures over 44 inches long!

I'm late posting again today, I but I had a lovely day. I was teaching a one day course to a couple of people in Westport, most of the day was spent doing photoshop, both Kate and Liz were fairly new to photoshop but both took to it like ducks to water so we covered more then I expected which was great. Then in the evening I met with a couple of photographer friends, one of whom is putting a panel of pictures together for a photographic award, its always good to see other peoples work and this looked like a very good panel. I took this picture of Croagh patrick during a short break at lunchtime.