91/365: (A)spire

A parting shot from Dublin of the Spire…

and then I’m out the door and off to the airport to return home.

90/365: Money in time

Many bills posted in a pub in Dublin (most notably notes for 500,000,000 currency units and for 1,000,000 currency units):

Older sources of wealth:

And a much older display of power (Newgrange, a 5200-year-old passage tomb; outrageously cool, but no photography allowed inside):

89/365: Varied (part 2)

Continuing the theme of the contrasts in Ireland. Most of today’s photos were taken while hiking in Glendalough, a wonderful natural and historical park less than an hour from central Dublin. But if I didn’t tell you the location, couldn’t you imagine being in Colorado in the below photos?

Or California? Or Maine?

Back to Dublin

All photos today were taken within 60 km of one another…

My Irish heart. Le sigh…

88/365: Varied

One of the things I most enjoy about visiting Ireland is the wide variation in terrain, both natural and human-created.

Kells Priory, the spectacular ruins of a fortified, enclosed priory dating to the 1100s (remarkably serene and free of visitors):

87/365: Gray stones under blue skies

The color contrasts between the sights visited (above: flowers in front of the castle in Carrick-on-Suir; below Cahir Castle) and the colors of the sky and land were most noteworthy.

Notably, Cahir Castle was one of my favorite castles to ever visit. A physically imposing defensive castle, they chose minimal displays and maximal ability for the visitor to explore throughout, including climbing on and through the walls (some a bit perilous) and a great multilevel dungeon.

86/365: Water and sun make for an emerald isle

Above: Waterford

(OK, I recognize that a B/W photo doesn’t exactly fit the title, but the above photo is my single P365 photo.)

Below: Kilkenny

One of the most stunning elements of Ireland is just how green it can be – the Emerald Isle moniker is utterly apt. For a demonstration of why, see Kilkenny Castle below.

View from inside Kilkenny castle, 15 minutes earlier:

68/365: Dublin, city of contrasts

A long layover gave me the opportunity to explore Dublin a bit. What struck me most were the contrasts within this very compact capital city (I was only in the city for 6 hours). The above photo was taken in O’Neill’s Pub in the early afternoon. Just outside were the river and the streets.

Dublin is well-known for its doors

and greenery

and, despite the recent Celtic tiger growth, for its urban decay.

Of course, the weather can change rapidly

But no matter what, the streets are paved with Guinness!