Ivy now surrounds the remains of the tomb of Nicholas Hannon and his wife Rayneta Madden, that thick mature ivy that grows between the crevices and joints of ancient stonework and over time destroys its host. It is a sad sight now to see this tomb in such an advanced state of neglect. When built in […]

The traders who had the foresight to set up stall at the Cathedral gates must have made a fortune selling lilies in Galway this morning. Today the relics of the celebrated St. Anthony of Padua were brought to Galway Cathedral for veneration and the florists at the gate, mindful of the flower’s long association with […]

We’re just back from a brief break to mark our first wedding anniversary, spending two nights at Kilronan Castle, a restored neo-gothic style mansion, now in use as an hotel, on the shore of Lough Meelagh in North Roscommon in the heart of what was once the ancestral lands of the MacDermott Roe family. The […]

The Great October Horse Fair at Ballinasloe and its associated festival lasts for about a week, this year running from Saturday 28th September to Sunday 6th October. The photographs below were taken on the first Sunday and final Saturday of the Festival, two of its busiest days. I missed the show jumping on the first […]

It was with astonishment that I read the telephone message from my brother last night to the effect that a tornado had hit Clonfert but our parents were safe. Needless to say I was initially incredulous. Ireland is not known for its extremes of weather and a tornado of any sort is an exceptional occurrence, but as […]