Irish vistas…

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but lockdown has allowed me to process some images, and I thought it might be nice to resuscitate the blog. Last year was a good year for running workshops with Quest, and these images come from our lovely trip to the Dingle and the Burren on the west coast of Ireland. The images above & below are from the Inch Strand –  a great place for a symphony of light.

Driving inland in the Burren we came across this view of the mountain pass with the road in the distance…

And finally, another dawn shoot, this time at the Stone Portal on the Burren where I took the photo and waited for the Guinness/Whiskey hangover to subside…. Ah, indeed, a great trip it was!

Enjoying the craic!

When I was a student I was good at doing this. Large quantities of beer were the norm, and recovery time was minimal. Nowadays a great evening out takes about 2 weeks to recover…

 

I guess the best way not to suffer is to stick to one particular drink, and in Dublin that can only mean one thing, and try to drink slowly over a long period of time. Perhaps I didn’t quite achieve that (drinking slowly…) but at least I stuck to the black stuff, and mighty delicious it was too…

The other way to forget that you can’t quite be a student anymore, is to surround yourself with your student pals and just relive the old days. And that’s what we did, to great effect. Enjoying the craic! Inside I still feel like I’m in my younger 20s anyway…

And at no stage did I give up the ghost, put my head in my hands and drown all my sorrows. This pic isn’t me!

Next year: Galway!!!

The boys are back in Dublin town

When I was about 14 I trekked up to Newcastle Uni with a bunch of mates to see Thin Lizzy. Got my Dad to drive us up. The band, being a hardened, boozy, tough-guy rock ‘n roll outfit, didn’t come on stage until midnight. By which time we needed to head back home (….@*!?@?…) 

Jody Cahill from The Crooked Jacks

All this came bubbling up because I’ve been in Dublin for a week, and Phil Lynott, bless his bass playing soul, is all over the place. Statues, photos, memorabilia. Actually the whole city seems dedicated to its rock stars – U2, Van M, Shane MacGowan etc. They’re everywhere. It’s a music city!

Live at the Temple Bar Inn

So it was great to see some trad Irish music at the Temple Bar Inn, and sink a few pints of the black stuff. Tourist bar it may be, but hey, once work was done, I was in tourist mood.

4 piece band – it’s all you need.

Bit cramped, but they’re young and can cope

The music was provided by The Crooked Jacks, and very good they were too. And I loved the Temple Bar  (500 whiskies to try out… and that’s on top of the Guinness). 

Banjo twang

Thin Lizzy may have to remain a distant dream for me, but I got my fill of Irish music (and Guinness), managed to see the whole set and get back to my hotel room for a good night’s kip. Beats trekking up to Newcastle!

The Crooked Jacks