THE VILLAGE THAT WAS…. (2)

I love this walk, up a hill on one side of Croagh Mharhain.  It leads to the site of the village that was built for the set of the film Ryan’s Daughter, released in 1970.  I have written and posted photos about this walk a couple of years ago, see here.

Actually I have these photos for a few months now, so they are slightly out of season.

The walk up the hill has wonderful views of the Blasket Islands – when looking behind. I took many photos of the views of the islands, too many of them, in fact. They vary a little, depending on which features of the landscape are included in the composition. It was difficult for me to choose which photos to include here.

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This headland above is Dunmore Head.

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All that remains of this village now is the cobbled street and a few concrete blocks strewn about..

Kirrary was the fictitious name of the village.

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The current inhabitants appear rather shy and timid. They seem extra unfamiliar with humans. 

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After one look at me she legged it!

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Another shy one, trying to decide which way to go.

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She’s off!

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The walk takes one through the village site, and over a hilltop, not at the top of the mountain, but a lesser peak. Up here there are wonderful views of familiar coastal landmarks like Sybil Head, Clogher Beach and the Blasket Islands.  It’s a great place to stop for a while and look around, and perhaps, like me, take lots of photos.

I could imagine the actors and crew taking their lunch breaks and having picnics up here while enjoying the sights that changed with the weather every day. I think perhaps that they used to say things like – “Hey – didn’t we strike it lucky getting to come here to make a movie!” 

Of course the locals struck it lucky too.  Local guys that needed the work and the money built the village or got some other job here. Many locals were extras. It was a very exciting time for the people and it’s still talked about. After the film was released it created a big boost to the tourism business in the Dingle Peninsula.

Several more films have been made here since then. The most recent was Star Wars – The Last Jedi. The film set was on the top of Sybil Head, that headland on the photo above. The set was a replica of the stone beehive huts on Skellig Michael, in South Kerry, where they had made The Force Awakens. Due to concerns about the damage to the ancient buildings it was decided to create a life sized replica of the Stone settlement and place it on Sybil Head for their next movie.

The Sleeping Giant, (Inis Tuaisceart), one of the Blasket Island group.

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Slightly different views of the same landscape features, above and below.

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Sybil Head on the right and Clogher Beach to the left.

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A closer view of Sybil Head.

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The Tiaracht Island, which is also one of the Blaskets. There is an amazing lighthouse and associated buildings on the west side of this steep rocky island. But then – I think all Irish lighthouses are amazing!

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Clogher head above.

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Clogher Beach

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Back down the hill again. The sun had moved more to the west, creating a dazzling light on the water and creating a bigger challenge for photo exposure.

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I did need to make some exposure adjustments to different areas of the images.

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Thank you for viewing my post. Enjoy the summer (or winter, down under!) and keep cool in those crazy temperatures that are affecting some of you.

FROM CLOGHER HEAD TO TEACH NA CILLE

Some months back I started this walk from Clogher Head. It’s not a long walk but, it just got too cold for me to finish it on that occasion. So, recently I did finish it, although I wasn’t best pleased with the light – being intermittently dull, cloudy, hazy and with occasional welcome short bursts of sunlight.

This above photo of a view of Sybil shows the starting point, and not being impressed with my recent photo of this view, I have posted above a photo which was taken on my previous walk, which I like a bit better.

Looking to the right away from the coast, above right is Croagh Marhain and on the left is Minnaun More rock.

Moving along the coast on my walk, with the sea on my right, here is a view of Great Blasket Island, above. There are often wonderful views of the Blasket Islands from this stretch of coast, but the haze was not helpful and I didn’t take many photos this time. I have published some better shots in my post THE BLASKET ISLANDS – TODAY’S VIEWS

Dunmore Head, above and also below.

So, this is the remains of the schoolhouse that was built for the movie Ryan’s Daughter, way back in 1970 starring Sarah Miles and Robert Mitchum. I have of course written about this some time ago – more than once, but do check out my post TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING – The Schoolhouse from the Ryan’s Daughter Movie.

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See the little tent on the right side of the above photo. I failed to notice the man’s backside emerging from the tent when capturing the view. 😂

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It’s always worth remembering to look down. The above photo shows one of the several wild orchids that were growing in profusion here. Wild thyme, below, also is a common sight.

I was intending to turn back here but I decided to make a check on Teach na Cille, just some yards further on. Teach = house, cille = church. I guess the church connection is because the owner was a priest.

This was a timber house, obviously vacated some long time ago. There was rather more of it when I first saw it, but the West Kerry storms have reduced it to the three original chimneys with fireplaces and a pile of smashed timber.

I was interested to see how things were with the house now, partly because the current new owner has been in touch with me after seeing some of my photos of the house on my website. The house has an interesting history, and he is hoping to restore the house to its original state. I think he may have to jump through a few hoops to get there, and I wish him luck

The original owner was Monsignor Pádraig de Brún, a priest, scholar and Irish language enthusiast. He had close friendships with some of the main activists in the Irish War of Independence and who were executed for their part in the 1916 rising, after which Pádraig made his way to Kerry to find solace after this traumatic experience.

He made it his mission to promote and revive the Irish language and in 1920 he purchased this plot in this Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) area and had this simple timber house built, where he spent his holidays.

The house also became the regular holiday home of his sister’s family, including his niece Máire mhac an tSaoi, who later became one of the most important poets in the Irish Language. Her father was Seán McEntee (an anglicised spelling of the name) was also politically active in 1916 and later became a well known politician. Later she married Conor Cruise O’ Brien a prominent Irish diplomat and intellectual. She died in October 2021 aged 99 and a half!

With such a history it would be a shame not to rebuild this house.

Quite by co-incidence, I was approached by a publisher, some years back now, about using one of my photos on the cover of a book of Máire mhac an tSaoi’s poems.

Here is an earlier photo of the house, which I took in 2013

On my return I disturbed a family of choughs which flew down the cliff side. I caught one of them in this photo. Considering they are classed as rare these days, I seem to come come across them frequently enough.

Gulls of various sorts seem common enough too, but there is an avian flu killing a large number of them now and is a matter of big concern.

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Just water and light.

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A stonechat amused himself by flitting along from twig to twig in front of me. I amused myself by trying to get a few shots of him, but every time I pressed the button he few on again. He’s in mid-flight above.

These two shots were the closest I could get.

That concludes my walk. I hope you found it interesting and thank you for looking.

For more images of this area and these dilapidated buildings in different stages of decay please check out this tag on my website https://www.helene-brennan.com/tag/dunquin

CLOGHER EVENING

Photos of Clogher. I often visit Clogher Beach, being not far from my home. Many people, including myself, are attracted here in rough windy weather, because this is the place to get really big wild rough waves. But this was a very calm evening, with disappointing grey cloud cover. I was driving past, intending to go somewhere else, but a window of interesting light brought me down to this Beach.

It was particularly this skein of mist illuminated by the sun that attracted me. However it didn’t last long.

I have taken hundreds of photos here, so it’s hard to find something different to capture. It’s usually a matter of finding something different about the light or the weather conditions.

The Island in the distance, behind the mist, is Inis Tuaisceart, which many of you would have seen in my previous photos, It’s one of the Blasket Islands group and is also commonly known as the Sleeping Giant, or locally more likely called the Fear Marbh (Dead Man).

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There is a nice little sandy beach here, but my photos above are showing the rocky end.

I took a walk along the Cosán na nÉighe cliff walk, a favourite walk of mine. It was so calm and peaceful. The water can be really wild here. Below is an earlier one I took in some rougher weather, for comparison.

Some of these rocks and Islands have become so familiar to me that they are almost like old friends – friends I have known through life’s trials and tribulations – theirs and mine!

I love this little inlet with the triangular rock, echoing the shape of the Tiaracht Island beyond. Here is another earlier photo in some wild weather, below.

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The rocks were surprisingly detailed and colourful in the flat dim light, given a little extra exposure here, with no tripod; so a little less sharp than I would like. Yes, I’m lazy about carrying a tripod, making do with hand-held or some fence posts. The majestic and magnetic Sybil Head is in the above shot.

At Cuas ne nÉighe, in this shot above, with the Three Sisters in view.

The sun peeped out to say goodnight, briefly, before quietly dropping down below the horizon.

Goodnight!

Many more of my Sleeping Giant images, seen from different parts of the Peninsula, can be accessed here

I really appreciate your visit, thank you.

VIEWS FROM CRUACH MHARHAIN (2)

Following from my earlier post Walking up Cruach Mharhain, these photos show arrival at the top of this rather steep little mountain, on the Dingle Peninsula, in the South West of Ireland.

The views from the top of Cruach Mharhain are so amazingly beautiful; it’s such a rewarding walk. It’s one of my favourites, but often the ground is too soggy, especially in the winter. Recently we had such a lot of dry weather that the ground was very dry and firm, perfect for walking.

Sybil Head (Ceann Sibéal), above.

Inis Tuaisceart (Sleeping Giant), one of the Blasket Island group, above.

The Three Sisters, top left, and Ballydavid Head, to the right of them.

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A zoomed in look at Clogher Beach, above.

Mount Brandon, taken on the way down again.

The Blasket Islands, above and below.

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There are lambs galore in the fields, and who could resist taking a photo or two.

So that’s the end of that walk. It’s a perfect little workout for the heart and lungs, and at the same time offering such wonderful visual and mental nourishment. I hope you enjoyed the views too. Thanks for looking.

Many photos of the Dingle Peninsula are available from my website.

WILD ATLANTIC WALK

These photos were taken from Clogher Beach and the cliff walk to Cuas na nEighe from the beach. This is the place for massive, wild and wonderful waves, where many people – photographers and others go to capture the Atlantic wildness, or just to observe and enjoy it.

This rock above can send the most enormous splash way up to the sky. Photographers love to catch this moment. It always happens just when you take your eye off the ball, in a manner of speaking. I’ve seen some arrive with their tripods and camera pointed at the rock, ready for the event, and not being side-tracked by any of the lovely dancing light on the spray etc. They leave as soon as they capture it. Nothing else matters.

If you follow my posts you would have seen many other photos from this place, but as I often say, it changes every day, with the wind and the light.

Lace-like patterns swoosh towards the beach.

The island above right is Inis Tuaisceart, one of the Blasket Island group, commonly known as The Sleeping Giant, or locally known as Fear Marbh (Dead Man). It appears in many of my photos and paintings.

The Island in the distance above is another Blasket Island, the Tiaracht. It resembles the Great Skellig Rock, near the Iveragh Peninsula of South Kerry. Many people get confused with it,

I love these dancing shapes riding on top of the water, with the spray flying in the wind.

The next six images are from Cuas na nEighe, one of the most wild and wonderful places on the Dingle Peninsula, in my view.

At Cuas na nEighe, with Sybil Head in view.

These big splashes are so irresistable.

On the return towards Clogher Beach.

I hope you enjoy these coastal pics.

More Clogher Beach and Cosán na nEighe images

Thanks so much for visiting.

MOUNT EAGLE – TO THE TOP

Although I often take a short walk up Mount Eagle, for a little cardiovascular workout, it was some time since my last walk to the top. It can be very wet and waterlogged in winter time. But recently on a beautiful sunny Sunday I finally managed to get to the top again. I particularly wanted to get some new photos of the views from the top.

I was a little disappointed with the quality of the light, considering it started off very sunny and clear, but the views were starting to look a little dull and with a slight haze. I was aware that I have many better photos than these views of the Blasket Islands.

Great Blasket Island is the largest of this island group, is not only of interest because of its wild life and scenic beauty, but is also famous for the many acclaimed writers who emerged from the vibrant community of people who once lived there (until 1953) . Their written accounts of life on the island are now considered to be classics of literature, and there are translations of these books in many countries of the world.

As the path wound around to reveal the views at the other side of the mountain I was dismayed to see the reason for the lack of light – gorse fires! They were all over the place, with thick smoke hanging about all over the landscape. This didn’t bode well for views from the top. It was February 28th, the last legal date this year for farmers to burn the gorse, and being a dry sunny day – they went mad at it.

In this view showing Mount Brandon in the distance, I had to work at editing some detail into the picture.

Mount Eagle Lough, is the lake seen here. There is a path up the mountain from the lake which I have taken previously, but this was not the path taken on this occasion.

Finally, at the top, with very hazy views of the Blasket Islands, and the Skellig Rocks not visible through the veil of smoke.

I did what I could with the available views before setting off down again.

On the way down the sun had moved over the islands, giving some pleasing images.

The following photos were taken on previous trips, some of which had better visibility.

These two older images are of the Skellig Rocks, from the top of Mount Eagle, which, because of smoke, could not be seen on my recent walk. They are closer to the next Peninsula, the Iveragh Peninsula of South Kerry. The large rock on the right is Skellig Michael, on which there is an ancient monastic settlement, with several beehive shaped stone huts, built by the monks who lived there in harsh isolation from about the 6th century AD, to about the 13th century. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and very popular with tourists – even more so since being used as a Star Wars film location. There is some information on this link below:

https://aleteia.org/2017/12/13/luke-skywalkers-beehive-huts-and-their-spiritual-symbolism/

Below is a clearer view of the Blasket Islands from the top.

Gorse fires on an earler occasion, when strong winds prevented the smoke from settling low. The fire services are regularly called out to control these fires.

How different things can look when the light is good!

Mount Eagle is 516 meters high – a very enjoyable walk on a nice day, if the path is not too soggy or flooded. Good boots are essential.

Thanks for visiting. Do come back, please.

I have several more photos taken from Mount Eagle, in different light, at different times of the year, on my website:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/tag/mount+eagle

DUNQUIN VIEWS

Fluffy clouds, Dunquin. Below the horizon stands the Blasket Centre, which provides information and history about the vibrant community that once lived on Great Blasket Island, the larger island on the left, below.

Just below the Blasket Centre on the coast, this very nice new viewing platform has been built on the cliff, at a cost of €2.25million+ !!! I have heard that the rusty effect alone was a substantial part of the expense.

There are stunning views of the Blasket Island group from the Dunquin coast. This is on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, South West Ireland.

More coastal views from Dunquin.

These shots were taken on Dunmore Head, which is nearest to the islands. Here there is another of those World War 2 lookout shelters, of which there are several around the coast. Unfortunately they don’t look very pretty.

An Ogham Stone stands on Dunmore Head. So named because it has some of the ancient Ogham script carved on it. Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used to write the early Irish language, and later the Old Irish language. (Pronounced Ohm, it has a silent G). Dingle Peninsula has a large percentage of the country’s Ogham Stones.

Couminole Beach, not very obvious here because the tide is high and the sandy area is covered over. It’s a beautiful beach for a saunter and a few photos, but not so safe. Nevertheless, my walking companions went down for a swim – yes in January! I didn’t venture down on this occasion as I was in a hurry.

The steep path to Dunquin Pier can be seen in the above photo.

I have to show these shots of this beautiful horse with his long mane!

This friend of mine, Lisa, likes to feed him daily with her vegetable peelings and give him a bit of attention, as she passes on her daily walks in Dunquin.

Lisa has named him Gruaig Fhada, which simply means Long Hair. Her own hair makes them a good match.

I have never seen a horse with such a long mane before! I assume he is a shire horse.

He is rather lovely, isn’t he?

So hard to see his dark eye in that black patch. I don’t know how he can graze with that hair in his eyes!

On my website there are many photos and a few paintings of the Dunquin area, including captures of Couminole Beach which I bypassed above:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/tag/dunquin.

Also some animals and wildlife on this tag:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/c101-animals–birds-and-other-nature-photos

I appreciate your visit. I hope you like my views of Dunquin, do come again.

THE VILLAGE THAT WAS…

Walking up Cruach Mharhain, from Dunquin, on the Dingle Peninsula, in County Kerry. The weather was particularly dull for the most part, and many of these photos needed some help  in showing a bit of colour.

The Islands here are the Blasket Islands. The largest one, on the left, was once the home of 150 or more remarkable people, the most westerly community in Europe, until about 1953.

 

Head butting sheep!

 

A road to nowhere? Actually this was the scene of the fictitious village of Kirrary, that was built for the 1970 movie Ryan’s Daughter. A substantial village was built here, using local labour, which was a welcome source of income to local small farmers when there was very little employment or tourism in the area.  Most locals now seem sorry that the village was demolished. It was offered free to anyone who wanted it at the time, but I think there were issues around the fact that it was built on commonage. It would have been a great tourist attraction.

Just as we came over the shoulder of the mountain just beyond the village, there was this wonderful view of Sybil Head. A bright sun shone out from the dark clouds, with a strange light. Strangely enough, the top of Sybil Head was the location of a Star Wars movie set a few years ago.

The schoolhouse that was built for Ryan’s Daughter is down at the coast, falling to ruin. I have many photos taken at different stages of ruin:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/tag/ryans+daughter+schoolhouse

Thanks so much for your visit to my post,

2020 – A POTTED PERSONAL REVIEW IN PHOTOS

2020 for me started in the beautiful state of Mizoram, in North East India, where I spent Christmas and New Year. Here is the city of Aizawl, built on mountain peaks, and with wonderful sunsets.

Back home to the Dingle Penninsula, in the South West of Ireland, to enjoy, endure, survive the winter storms and the powerful, magnetic and awe inspiring Atlantic Ocean.

And experience the beautiful beach walks!

But….who could have thought…the dreadful Covid-19 came along and threw us all sideways – or worse, in some cases.

I had planned a trip to Italy in March, but had to cancel. Social life was on hold for most people.

Luckily, I was still able to walk and capture the beautiful coastal images – for a while longer, before restrictions became stricter.

More time to study the birds in my garden, through the window.

As a little experiment I recorded myself playing flute with the bird song in the garden. If the image looks upside down to you, it will correct itself when you click it.

Local sunset, below.

Lockdown to a greater or lesser extend affected all of us, world over. Our individual experience of the world became very small, as we were obliged to reduce our social contacts and curtail travel. Many shops and pubs were closed. My regular trad Irish music sessions in local pubs, where I joined in with my flute were cancelled, indefinitely!

For a time my photography focused on my immediate area, and the garden. These sunsets from around the house and very local area take on a caged appearance, as indeed we were caged, all of us, in some measure.

I am very lucky that the local area has many beautiful places for walking. beaches were closed for some weeks, but cliff walks were possible.

My birthday celebration was a cliff walk, with friends. It was lovely.

Much garden navel gazing was undertaken. I never took so many photos of flowers and garden creatures before.

I never before appreciated how beautiful apple blossom can be.

Wildflowers became objects of scrutiny and much enjoyment too.

So many bees in the garden!

– And I discovered just how photogenic the humble daisies can be.

Thistles too!

I am so thankful for my good luck in being able to take many coastal walks.

Seaside and flowers together here. Lovely sea pinks make a wonderful show in early summer.

Beaches finally opened again, in June, I think. It’s all a bit blurred in my memory now, as Covid-19 figures rose and fell and lockdowns went in and out of different levels of severity.

Tourists returned in full force to the Dingle area in the summer, much to the relief of those whose livlihoods depend on tourism.

Sunsets around my area continue to fascinate, less cage-like with the summer foliage.

Lovely coastal and mountain walks. These photos were from different sides of Mount Brandon.

I updated my photos of Dingle Harbour, and took several shots around the town of Dingle.

The swallows raised two families in my shed. These first day out fledgling swallows only had a couple of weeks to grow strong before their long flight to South Africa. I wonder if they made it.

Some apple trees did bear fruit, though hundreds of babies were blown off the trees in summer storms before they were ready to eat. This is the entire harvest from several young trees.

Exploring beyond my own area, as easing of Covid restrictions permitted, I visited Killarney, South Kerry, West Cork and more.

The Gap of Dunloe, near Killarney.

On Cape Clear Island, above, off the coast of West Cork.

The small mainland harbour, Baltimore, County Cork, below.

Back on local Ventry Beach, below.

In October, a cruel hand was served on Dingle. After a several months of Covid-19 related hardships, Fungie, the globally famous Dingle Dolphin disappeared, without trace. Fungie, a wild dolphin has lived in Dingle Harbour of his own free will for 37 years. He was probably about 45 years old. Missed by many, whether they made a fortune running Fungie tourist trips, or whether they were just people who loved to see and play with the dolphin. For sure, Dingle will be a different place without him. This was a major event here. It’s not easy to explain how this wild, free dolphin touched the hearts of Dingle people and many visitors from around the world.

I have no photos of Fungie, preferring to leave that to the Fungiephiles who had developed considerable expertise. Here is a video from Jeannine Masset and Rudi Schamhardt.

More local captures below.

Fungie is gone, but the Dingle Peninsula remains the same beautiful place.

An autumn forest walk, above, in Glanteenassig Wood, on the Dingle Peninsula.

December shots from Mount Eagle, below.

The Blasket Islands, above.

Snow on Mount Brandon, shot from the garden, heralding the coming of Christmas 2020

On Christmas Day on a local Ballyferriter beach, Béal Bán, some brave swimmers rushed into the cold water, with an air temperature of about 8 degrees C. I did not partake, I prefer to stick to the heated pool these days. But it was fun to be there and support them.

Recent Storm Bella, seemed to last for about three days.

I completed a number of paintings this year, and failed to complete several more – so far. I’ve dicovered that I can be more motivated in that field when I have more activity in general in my life. The slower pace of things this year seemed to diminish my motivation in the more demanding creative side.

Now we are in a 3rd wave of the Corona Virus, with a new more transmissable variant of the virus in the country. In fact a case was discovered in Dingle recently. We have a high level lockdown again, going even stricter after today, but vaccines have arrived in the country; I for one will not hesitate to take advantage when it’s my turn.

So now 2021 approaches. May you all be lucky enough to only have contact with those people who are honest, compassionate and kind, who treat you as they would wish to be treated, and I wish the best of health and happiness to you all. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

OCTOBER WALK ON MOUNT EAGLE

It was a fairly short walk, a few weeks ago, on Mount Eagle, which is on the west end of the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland. I didn’t go to the top, but it was just a bit of much needed uphill exercise and an opportunity to take a few photos along the way. I have of course taken many photos on this route before, but in this climate the views are ever changing.

The winter colours are so lovely in the October sunshine.

Mount Brandon in the distance, above and below, so clear with no heavy cloud on top.

Dingle Bay, above, with the mountains of the Iveragh Peninsula, South Kerry, across the water. The peaks of Carauntoohil, Irelands highest mountain can be seen.

The Blasket Islands, above and below.

Views over the fields of Dunquin, in these last few pics.

On my website I have many more photos taken from this mountain, many from the top also. Please take a look, using this taglink:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/tag/mount+eagle

Thanks so much for looking at my photos. Please come back.