August 22, 2012

County Roscommon

"Tree" Tunnel

This is not a very noteworthy photo from a composition standpoint or even from a subject standpoint. To the average Irishman, I suppose it would hold no interest at all. However, we loved the "tunnels" through the trees as we were whizzing down narrow Irish roads. It added a lot of charm to our journey. Bellanamullia, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Béal Átha na Muille, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/5.6, 1/125 second, ISO 200.

Fuerty Church

Fuerty Church of Ireland Ruins

We saw this marked on our map, so decided to take a look. Found the graveyard and ruined church to be fascinating and a good place to take a few photographs. It is said that Saint Patrick visited Fuerty and left a deacon to found a monastic settlement here. The deacon, Justus, baptized Saint Ciarán, a local man, around the year 500. Ciaran went on to found Clonmacnoise, which became one of the most important monasteries and centers of learning in Europe. Two 8th century granite grave slabs in the west side of the tower bear inscriptions that can still be read. One of them bears the name of Ardeachan, Abbot of Clonmacnoise. The abbey was attacked and destroyed by the English Elizabethan invaders and all its monks were slain. The existing ruins are of a 17th-century Church of Ireland. The tower was added in 1790 but the church was destroyed by fire in 1870. Fuerty, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Fiodharta, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/9, 1/320 second, ISO 200.

Fuerty Church of Ireland Ruins

I especially like this view showing the ruined interior of the church from the back doorway which is mostly missing. Fuerty, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Fiodharta, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/9, 1/320 second, ISO 200.

Nature's Grafitti

This brilliantly colored plant growing out of the wall of the ruined church in hanging garden fashion cried out to be photographed. Fuerty, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Fiodharta, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/5.6, 1/250 second, ISO 400.

Look Towards the Light

As I walked through the tower base, the sky was beckoning to me to look up. Fuerty, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Fiodharta, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.



Church Tower

Another view I found intriguing, showing several levels up the tower where there used to be structure, but no details remain. Fuerty, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Fiodharta, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Oran Round Tower

Oran Round Tower

St. Patrick is thought to have founded a church here and St. Cethecus was said to have been appointed bishop. Oran Round Tower, Carroweighter, Oran, (Newtown), County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Oran Round Tower

I have a lot of favorites from our trip to Ireland. This is one of them! Oran Round Tower, Carroweighter, Oran, (Newtown), County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/5.6, 1/500 second, ISO 200.

Oran Round Tower Graveyard

The graveyard associated with the round tower was difficult to negotiate. The ground was very uneven, the grass was long and there were hidden holes to catch you by surprise! Oran Round Tower Graveyard, Carroweighter, Oran, (Newtown), County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/5.6, 1/500 second, ISO 200.

Reaching Heavenward

The perfect view looking up through the Round Tower would have been flat on my back in the center of the tower so the "aperture" would have been circular. A couple of problems with that approach - arrived in a downpour and I usually would be willing to sacrifice for a photo, but. . .; my 18mm wide angle wouldn't capture it. Oran Round Tower, Carroweighter, Oran, (Newtown), County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/5.6, 1/500 second, ISO 200.

Oran Round Tower

Oran Round Tower. This day was not our longest of the trip, but it was perhaps the most memorable. We experienced the fully range of Ireland's weather - from gentle rain, to pouring, wind-driven rain, to sunshine, and everything in between at nearly every stop! It only made scenes like this all the more special and enjoyable. We went looking specifically for this tower and were disappointed when we first saw it - so much for first impressions! This is a hidden gem! Carroweighter, Oran, (Newtown), County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Roscommon Castle

The main gate to the castle. The remnants of one of the ruined twin gate-towers can be seen in the foreground. Roscommon Castle, Roscommon, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Ros Comáin, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/5.6, 1/500 second, ISO 200.

Arrowslit

Imagine what it would have been like to attempt to defend against attackers while wearing armor and shooting from such a position! An arrowslit (sometimes called a balistraria) is a thin vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows. Arrowslits come in a remarkable variety. A common and recognizable form is the cross. The thin vertical aperture permits the archer large degrees of freedom to vary the elevation and direction of his bowshot but makes it difficult for attackers to harm the archer since there is only a small target to aim at. Roscommon Castle, Roscommon, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Ros Comáin, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/5.6, 1/125 second, ISO 400.

Roscommon Castle

One of our favorite castles. Probably because we saw it on one of the most memorable days of our entire 23-day trip. Roscommon castle is located on a hillside just outside the town. Now in ruins, the castle is quadrangular in shape, it had four corner D-shaped towers, three stories high, and twin towers at its entrance gateway, one of which still retains its sturdy vaulted roof. The entire castle was enclosed by a lofty curtain wall. It was built in 1269 by Robert de Ufford, Justiciar of Ireland. It was besieged by Connacht King Aodh O’Connor in 1272. Eight years later it was again in the hands of an English garrison, and fully repaired. By 1340 the O’Connor’s regained possession of it, and, except for a few brief intermissions, they held it for two centuries until 1569, when Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy seized it. It was granted to Sir Nicholas Malbie, Elizabethan Governor of Connaught, in 1578. Again, in 1641 the Parliamentarian faction gained it until Confederate Catholics under Preston captured it in 1645. It remained in Irish hands until 1652 when it was partially blown up by Cromwellian "Ironsides" under Commissary Reynolds, who had all the fortifications dismantled. It was finally burned down in 1690, and, from the closing years of the 17th-century, it gradually fell into decay. A symmetrical moat some distance from the curtain walls surrounded the entire castle and safeguarded it. It is now a national monument. Roscommon, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Ros Comáin, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/10, 1/400 second, ISO 200.

Roscommon Abbey

Roscommon Abbey Chancel

The Chancel viewed from the Nave. Roscommon Abbey, Roscommon, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Ros Comáin, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/11, 1/200 second, ISO 200.

Roscommon Abbey

Roscommon Abbey was founded just over 750 years ago by King Felim O' Connor (Fedlimid Ó Conchobair), king of Connacht, who was buried there himself in 1265. Usually called the ‘Abbey’, it is more accurately described as a friary, it was created for Dominican friars. Suppressed at the Reformation, the ruined buildings were denuded of their majestic tower, and probably also of the cloister to the south, when they served as a handy stone-quarry for their owner. Roscommon, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Ros Comáin, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/14, 1/200 second, ISO 200.

The stark contrast between the deep blue of the sky, the white clouds and the stone wall creates a pleasing visual image. Roscommon Abbey, Roscommon, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Ros Comáin, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/11, 1/500 second, ISO 200.

Burial Niche

This effigy in a niche on the north side of the chancel is either that of King Felim O' Connor (Fedlimid Ó Conchobair), king of Connacht, who was buried there himself in 1265 (but carved 35 years or more after his death), or of one of his successors; dating from around 1300, it shows a king dressed in a long robe and mantle of a kind that suggests he may have been aping an English regal costume of the period, an idea supported by the fact that he carries a scepter with fleur-de-lis head in his right hand. The tomb front supporting his effigy slab (but not originally belonging to it) bears eight niches containing fifteenth-century carved figures of gallowglasses, mercenaries of Scottish origin who played a major role in Irish wars of the Later Middle Ages. These have their bodies protected by a coat of mail and each wears a helmet known as a bascinet. All are armed with a sword, except one who bears an axe-like sparth, a typical gallowglass weapon. Roscommon Abbey, Roscommon, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Ros Comáin, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/11, 1/200 second, ISO 200.

Chancel Window

I like the way the early afternoon sun is only partially illuminating the arch and has not yet made it into the interior. One of the times during this stormy day when the sun briefly was the winner. Roscommon Abbey, Roscommon, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Ros Comáin, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/11, 1/500 second, ISO 200.

Strokestown

Strokestown Manor House

Strokestown Manor House, Strokestown House Park. This was not on our radar at all. We had never heard of it, but the Bed-and-Breakfast host in Athlone suggested it to us as a "must-see". He was spot-on. One of the most fascinating and sobering afternoons I have ever spent. Man's inhumanity to man on display beside great humanity! Our first realization of just how devastating the potato famine really was in the 1840s and just how senseless the starvation of millions was while surrounded by plenty! Strokestown was the site of the estate of the Anglo-Irish Mahon family from about 1671 until 1982. On 2 November 1847 the patriarch of the family and landlord of the surrounding estate, Major Denis Mahon, was assassinated by several local men, including Ciaran Feeney, in an incident that became infamous across Ireland and Britain at the time. The killing was motivated by the removal of starving tenant farmers from the estate lands during the Irish Potato Famine of 1845. The killing of Denis Mahon did not halt the evictions, and eventually over 11,000 tenants were removed from the Mahon estate during that period. There is a museum commemorating the Great Famine of 1845 in the town. Strokestown, Bellanamullia, Bellanamully, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Béal na mBuillí, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/11, 1/500 second, ISO 200.

Boyle Abbey

Gentle Irish Rain

I have tried to photograph rain. Always ends in dismal failure! This is my one exception and it captured the moment in the Round Tower perfectly! Boyle Abbey, Boyle, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Mainistir na Búille, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/7.1, 1/200 second, ISO 200.

Boyle Abbey Round Tower

View from the stub of the Round Tower. Boyle Abbey, Boyle, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Mainistir na Búille, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/9, 1/320 second, ISO 200.

Boyle Abbey

As was our MO nearly all day, we arrived in the rain and it let up as we were looking around. One of our favorite places - again. Seems like that title applies to most of what we encountered in Ireland. The Cistercian Boyle Abbey was founded in the 12th century under the patronage of the local ruling family, the MacDermotts and is one of the best preserved in Ireland. It was colonized from Mellifont in 1161. The five eastern arches of the nave and their supporting pillars were built at the end of the 12th century, and have well-preserved capitals typical of the period. Although built at the same time, the arches of the northern side of the nave are different in type, and have differently shaped columns and capitals. Nothing remains of the cloister, but on the eastern side there are two doorways of c.1200, now blocked up. On the west side there is a two-story gatehouse, which acts as an interpretative center. The Abbey was one of the most important in Connacht, and was invaded by Richard de Burgo, Maurice Fitzgerald, and Justiciar, in 1235. In 1659, the Cromwellians occupied the monastery and did a great deal of destruction. Though mutilated during the 17th and 18th centuries when it was used to accommodate a military garrison, Boyle Abbey is one of the best preserved structures of its type. Boyle, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Mainistir na Búille, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/9, 1/320 second, ISO 200.

Boyle Abbey Tower

There is a combination of rounded and pointed arches in the transepts and crossing. The existing large square tower formed part of the church from the beginning, though it was raised in height at a later stage. Boyle Abbey, Boyle, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Mainistir na Búille, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Lough Key

Lough Key

This view shows the weather from the entire day - rain in the distance, small breaks in the heavy clouds, and glorious sunshine right where we were then. Experienced all numerous times throughout! Lough Key, Boyle, County Roscommon, Connaught, Republic of Ireland, (Loch Cé, Mainistir na Búille, Contae Ros Comáin, Connacht, Éire), August 22, 2012. f/8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.