Walking Down a Festooned-covered Shop StreetCoordinating (in my capacity as DERI Education Outreach Officer) the distribution of free laptop computers to the children of Scoil Bhríde in the village of MenloEnjoying the party to celebrate the launch of the Countdown Clock for the 'Volvo Ocean Race' in Galway's newest restaurant Pier 88 (Photo below shows Dr. Noirin Burke and my beautiful wife Cepta). The Round-the-World race will visit Galway in Summer 2009.Acting as Santa's little helper at the Christmas Party for the children of the Eglinton Asylum Seeker's Accommodation (I am dressed in red on front right of the picture)Attending the Adult Asylum Seekers Christmas Party at the Slovakian-owned KCRMA bar in Salthill which I co-launched with local Fianna Fáil TD Frank...
This weekend's decision of the members of the Progressive Democrats(PDs) to cease to exist as a political party was good news. While the PDs came into existence in 1985 with noble aspirations to expose state and political corruption as well as to secure on progress on liberal social issues such as divorce and contraceptive, they soon become closely identified with promoting the free market Thatcherite economic policies of successive governments over the last few decades. Whilst this led to the Celtic Tiger phonomena that gave Ireland unprecedented levels of growth and wealth, the monies gained were wasted on over-development, property speculation and in creating a dehumanising urban sprawl of concrete jungles and sterile greens . A new Irish identity emerged that was characterised by...
I am presently organising a Celtic-themed exhibition of the wood carvings of a Slovak friend of mine in the Galway City Museum. On Saturday November 1st, the Sacred Animals of Celtic Ireland by Radoslav Benka will be officially launched by another friend of mine, Michael D. Higgins TD-Ireland’s first Minister of Culture .I have a strong affinity of Irish Celtic culture and have promoted it over many years both here and abroad in its many different guises- from music, drama, art, dance to story telling.Radoslav Benka hails from picturesque Bardejov in eastern Slovakia famed for its wooden churches and traditional crafts. His love of wildlife was inspired by the diverse fauna of the vast forests and rugged mountains that cover much of his homeland. One day while he was a young child...
Just had to take a shot of this couple strolling along Whitestrand Beachgoogle0fa210fd36bd046.html
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INT. KITCHEN - MORNING
An espresso machine gargles and hisses as it warms up.
Maura - wearing soft white slippers, jeans, and a t-shirt purchased in Japan that features a skull wearing a cowboy hat - dances across the floor.
She's singing a strange improvisation of the MC Hammer tune, "You Can't touch this".
MAURA
(singing)
Stop, coffee time!
Her dog, Minnie, cocks her head, and emits a single whine of...
At some point when I was a kid I encountered the idea of a waterproof radio that could be used in the shower. I'm sure I first saw it on a film or a TV show, but I thought the idea was fantastic. Imagine, being able to shower and listen to music! I've always had a determination that I would get one.
Yet it was only this week I attained the goal. I went to my local Lidl, and purchased a shower radio for the princely sum of €7.99.
You know what, it was awesome having a shower and listening to the radio. I left it on as I went through the rest of my daily ablutions, and I got the useful warning from the local weather forecast that I could expect downpours later in the day. This small purchase made me happy in a simple and practical way. Martin commented: "If only all life's...
As anticipated the Yoga class attendance was cut by half this week. It didn't help that it was a glorious evening. Summer has arrived in the West of Ireland suddenly after a long cold Spring. It's like an old and welcome friend who calls at the last minute, turns up in a flurry of hugs and smiles, and brings a couple of bottles of fabulous wine to sip languidly during a long, intense conversation that lasts (hopefully) three months.
Our teacher, Yoga Elf, goes through all the positions quickly and doesn't wait for anyone. It's either keep up or skip a couple of the in-between positions when your legs/arms/etc. are shrieking in alarm at the strange contortions.
Strangely, I find myself unconcerned if I can't do everything. I try. I aim for good form. I know with practice I will get...
Most people go to Nimmo's Pier to feed the swans and the ducks. But there are always plenty of scavengers there to lend a beak or two, like these two Jackdaws. There are times when I wonder if...
Library Ireland Week begins tomorrow until March 9th, so check out what's going on in your local library. Libraries are amazing resources and deserve to be supported.
On Thursday I attended the monthly Over The Edge poetry reading at the Galway City Library. There were readings by Michelle O'Sullivan, and five writers who are taking the M.A. in Writing at NUIG this year. While I liked the work of many of the authors the stand-out for me was Moya Roddy, who is an established writer (a novel, short fiction, and poetry). Moya's work was literate and beautiful, but equally important for what is a piece of performance, Moya spoke with clarity.
Listening to the work of these writers, and those who spoke during the open mic section afterwards, I was struck by the fact that writers can do a...
Those of you who live in Galway, or are planning a visit in the coming weeks, should swing by the Kenny Gallery to view "The Lore of Places", 50 new paintings by Donegal artist, Brian Ferran. The images on the web site don't do the beautiful pieces credit, especially since so many of them feature gold leaf.
The inspiration for the artwork comes from Amra Cholum Chille, also known as Dallan's Elegy for Colmcille, which is one of the first datable works of Irish literature (597). Dallan says of Colmcille: "He was learned in the lore of places."
The exhibition will continue until the 13th of March....
I woke up this morning to a white world. Snow is so unusual in this part of the country - close to the Atlantic Ocean and with no mountains in the area - that it merits a short poem:
Overnight snowfall;
The landscape bathed in light
Silhouettes the dog.
My breath catches,
Escapes, a visible surprise.
Ice bursts under heel.
Today is Imbloc, which is an agrarian festival associated with the lambing season. In Ireland it's also known as Lá Fhéile Bríde, and is still celebrated in Kildare as a week-long festival dedicated to Saint/Goddess Bríde.
Bríde is associated with smithcraft, poetry, and fire, and so February 1st is an appropriate day to compose a poem....
For me, the best bookshop (or anywhere in Ireland, for that matter) in Galway is Charlie Byrne's, on Middle Street. It's also the worst, for the same reason. Every time I go in there, I can happily lose myself...
Sunrise at Salthill on October 6th, 2007. I've been laid low since last week with a bad cold. Doesn't matter anyway - the weather - relentless rain and gloom - means that I haven't missed too many photo...
It's 3.30pm, and the solid bank of clouds outside my window is the shade of grey your white t-shirt turns when it has been through too many cold wash cycles. The hedges and trees flail in the grip of gusts and sudden squalls of rain. It's twilight already. It has the yellowish tinge of an incipient storm, or the apocalypse.
I'll be living in this compressed twilight world until the end of the month. I hold onto the thought that the solstice is not far off, and every day after that will be a little longer and brighter.
The sun remains, hidden. I wish it would break through more......
I'm off to a Christmas Party tonight, which is a big event for someone who works from her home and doesn't socialise with real living people a great deal. Most of my daily interactions are virtual, or consist of sideways peeks at the strange denizens that erupt from my subconscious.
So, I'll be wearing a party frock (bright red!) and a new pair of boots I love with a secret girlie passion. I don't dress up often, and I enjoy it when I have an opportunity to do so.
I will be able to indulge in a few drinks thanks to Martin's magnanimous offer of a chauffeuring service.
It's been stormy in the West of Ireland lately. When I visit the woods there are signs of destruction everywhere. Sometimes I imagine that a giant has been stomping through the trees and has flattened sections under its...
I was at a reception last night, and since I was driving to and from the event I stuck to drinking water. In Ireland you can only have approximately one unit of alcohol in your bloodstream if you are driving (to be exact: 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood). Since it's quite likely in the future that drivers will face a total ban on alcohol consumption I don't indulge in the dhrink at all if I'm going to drive. It's just easier (and safer).
Irish people do merit their reputation as hard drinkers. Of course, not everyone here is an alcoholic, but we grow up in a culture that condones and approves of boozing. This wasn't such a problem when we were all on the dole (social welfare for those of you outside of Ireland), and didn't have much spare cash. Now we're more...
Halloween's Pagan Celtic Roots Today Halloween is joyously celebrated by children across the Western world. There is a popular misconception though that Halloween is a modern American invention. Not so. Like so many other things that have brought great happiness and joy to humanity for millennia, its roots lay firmly in the culture of the Irish Celts!Though it has to be said that the Americans, in their re-packaging & commercialisation of this ancient pagan festival, have destroyed much of the traditions that once were such an integral part of the festivities. For instance our Celtic custom of placing human skulls with candles at entrances to domestic dwellings in order to ward off evil spirits has been replaced by lights in hollowed-out pumpkins! Likewise the visits of children...
Since the beginning of October, we've had more than our fair share of crisp, clear mornings down in Galway. Which is good news for the early morning power walkers. The lady in the picture above used the top...
It's all happening in Portumna Woods these days. Normally, the deer are shy and keep quiet, but it is the rutting season right now, and, last Sunday, the stags were making plenty of noise in an attempt to...
Dawn at the Blackrock Diving Board, Salthill in Galway. salthill, blackrock, diving, board, dawn, ireland, galway, irishblogs, photoblogs, photography, photographs, pictures, galwayblogs, monasette, north atlantic skyline, autumn,john smyth, Canon, 5D, october,...
rainbow, lighthouse,oranmore, ireland, galway, irishblogs, photoblogs, photography, galwayblogs, monasette, north atlantic skyline, galway bay,john smyth, Canon, 5D, september,...
The first lighthouses were signal fires, lit on the shore to guide sailors to safe harbour, and sometimes lit to lure ships onto rocks so that their cargoes could be pirated. The plume of smoke on the Doorus/Aughinish...
For most commuters, there are two ways of crossing Galway City - either inch your way across the Quincentennial Bridge or advance at a similarly slow pace down the road by Lough Atalia, through the Docks and on...
With an estimated 7,000-8,000 living locally, Polish people form by far the biggest non-national group in Galway city. This translates to 1 in every 7 inhabitants! Yet in spite of the arrival of such a huge number in the space of a few short years, Poles have fitted in quite well into Irish society and there has been little or no antagonism which reflects well on all sides.However, it is felt that these huge numbers have not yet translated into an effective cohesive community.So some locally-based Poles have set up 'The Galway Irish – Polish Association' as a national cultural and social group. They are organising a 'get-to-know you' walk in the Oranmore area on Sunday 9th Sept.Called the 'INTEGRATIONAL WALK' the meeting point will be at the Fountain in Eyre Square at 12.30pm with the...
This cluster of blobs in the night sky tonight are the planet Jupiter, the largest in our solar system, and four of the 63 moons that orbit it. Those moons are Io, Europa, Ganymeade and Calista, and were...
I was at my parents house last week. My mother, who passed on her photographer genes to me, has been going through the bagfuls of her old pictures and putting some of them into albums. I was flitting...
It was a clear harvest evening tonight as the Jeanie Johnson left Galway Docks at around 9pm...
Anyone interested in some fresh mackerel for breakfast should hurry down to the inner harbour in Galway tonight. A huge shoal of mackerel is trapped inside and already, plenty of fishermen are reaping the harvest. Picture is of...
Dear God - is there no end to the rain. Yesterday, I trudged across Connemara as a participant in the 11th Galway Walking Club marathon. Mostly, it rained, turning paths along the Connemara Way into streams almost overnight....
Even on the sunny days, you can be sure of some rain. And the smaller the head, the bigger the raindrop... Camera=Canon 5D, lens=Canon100-400@400mm, aperture=f5.6, speed=1/500, ISO=400. rain, inishbofin, island, sparrow, ireland, galway, irishblogs, photoblogs, photography, galwayblogs, monasette,...