Caher Castle

October 30, 2017

I was incredibly lucky yesterday to have been given a tour of the amazing Caher Castle (aka Caherkinmonwee Castle) by its owner, restorer and lover Peter Hayes.

Peter bought the castle 20 years ago. Back then the keep was being used as a farm building and was in extremely poor condition.

He has spent the time since lovingly restoring the property, predominately on his own. While carrying out the works he lived in an adjoining property, a beautiful early 19th century cottage, immediately to the south of the castle itself.

This project would have been a daunting task for someone accustomed to working with significant listed buildings. For a man, who had come from the fashion industry, with no construction experience even more so.

Not him though. Undaunted by his lack of experience, and fuelled by his singular passion for the place, he set about learning the ancient tasks of stone cutting and carpentry, and got going on his task.

He hit the nail on the head when he said that more than anything, what is required to complete a Herculean task like this, is passion; a commodity he seems to possess in spades. His passion is evident in every nook and cranny, in every cut stone and timber.

He nearly had to sell the place a few years ago, having put every last thing he had into it. Fortunately, a friend suggested he should try it out on Air B&B. Unsurprisingly it is now one of the most popular Air B&B destinations in the world.

Now he gets his visitors to either sign their name in the guest book....or inscribe them on the turret stones. Their lives, just like Peter's, now form part of this castle's ongoing story.

A new chapter in this medieval castle's life has just begun.

A carving of Peter, on a turret cornerstone

The world needs more people like Peter; cracked enough to take something like this on and consumed enough with the passion required to see it through. I am in awe of what he has achieved here.

Next time I'm back I'm carving my name. ..

Kieran Mulvihill

October 21, 2017

It's always interesting to look back at a project's development when it's finalised. It's the same in any creative process; the first thing is to establish some form of brief. In this instance, this was photography for my friend Kieran's debut E.P. called "From the outside looking in".

In his mind's eye he wanted something urban, gritty...but also, in some way to try bring nature into it. That element of optimism; the crack in everything that lets the light get in.

I don't usually do portrait work, so this was to be a steep learning curve. The only way I know how to start by starting...only then you can figure out what's working and what's not.

So, we took a lot of shots looking out & through windows...some more successful than others.

I tried some long exposure experiments...trying to capture passerbys as they moved around Kieran.

Some more long exposures with the city's traffic moving in the background.

We even did the "walking-with-a-guitar-under-a-tunnel" thing...but I've seen it done better.

I wanted to get some studio-type portraits while we were at it. But seeing as I don't have a studio...we had to improvise.

I have a glass opaque glass screen on my deck. One extremely sunny day I give Kieran a call, saying to call over. Poor fella...I subjected him to some heat that day. The sunshine back-lit the glass screen, providing a clean backdrop. I had a mirror reflecting the sun back into his face...which was great for photography but the glare into his face was intense. He couldn't open his eyes. The sunshine was making tears flow freely down his face. It was hilarious.

I told him to "work it"...

There's something I like about a straight-on portrait...the directness of the subject's stare connecting with the viewer. There's an honestly to it. I experimented with some long exposure portraits with this format — There's something I like about a straight-on portrait...the directness of the subject's stare connecting with the viewer. There's an honestly to it.
I experimented with some long exposure portraits with this format

Up to this point we had done all our shoots at night time. For completeness we knew we'd have to get a few during the daytime too. We met up on Camden Street one sunny Sunday afternoon and went walking...trying some things out along the way.

When we got to the Bleeding Horse, we found a window that reflected some fairly run down Georgian townhouses across the street, on Camden Street Upper. Even better, the room inside had a feature wall with William Morris type wallpaper...so, when Kieran stood in front of the window we could see the buildings behind him reflected, and behind Kieran's reflection in the window, the graphic of the wallpaper inside.

As soon as I took it I knew that we had what we were looking for. The subject looking in a window, the city behind him reflected. The subject is also looking within, drawing inspiration from his rural background. I'd like to say I planned it...but we came across the scene quiet by accident.

It's all in the doing.

I love that quote from Beckett;

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

I'm very proud of this image, and what it represents. I'm honoured that Kieran wanted me to be involved in a small way with the creation of his debut...it's an important thing to trust someone with - the visual representation of your musical work. I'm glad he was happy with the results. At the end of the day, that's the most important thing.

Although he looks very serious in a lot of those shots, really we had a lot of fun. The amount of shots I have with him cracking up greatly outnumber the "serious artist" shots...it took some time, but we got there in the end. Good things do come to those who wait.

Kieran launched his E.P. last night with a gig in the Cobblestone Backroom, Smithfield

See Kieran's Facebook page here

Molesworth Place

October 17, 2017

This laneway is largely unchanged from the early 19th Century. That circular brick building in the background is the Round Room, by John Semple, rapidly constructed in 1821 to the rear of the Mansion House to house a civic banquet during the visit of King George IV.

There's a great description of the event, told by a fellow called John Wilson Croker - a parliamentarian and author;

"the interior circular court of a Moorish palace open to the sky; the battlements were a gallery walled with ladies, music and a company of halberdiers, in Spanish dresses of light blue silk, as a guard of honour to the King"

Apart from that frivolity, more significant events took place here. On January 21st 1919, the First Dáil (Irish Parliament) met here and declared an independent Irish Republic.

I'll be back to these laneways.

The Lilliput Press

October 16, 2017

With hurricane Ophelia still howling around it's a bit blustery out tonight...so I'm staying local. I popped out for a few minutes when things seemed quiet and got this one of the Lilliput Press, just up the road from my house.

Good things come in small packages...it's one of Ireland's smallest and most prestigious independent publishing houses, based here in Stoneybatter since 1984, publishing a wide variety of Irish interest books.

The housing scheme in which this building is located was constructed between 1895 and 1908 by the Dublin Artisans' Dwellings Company, which was established in 1876 to help to deal with the housing crisis in the city by providing housing for the tradesmen and skilled workers of the city. Though modest in scale and form, these buildings display a regularity of design and proportion, seen in the even fenestration arrangement and shared roofline. The company architect, Charles Herbert Ashworth, was a strong proponent of good quality brick, insisting on the use of better-quality Athy and Portmarnock brick for these buildings. Polychrome brick is employed to good effect to subtly enliven the buildings. This is one of two original shops in the area, the brick shopfront adding aesthetic and contextual interest to the building. The presence of purpose-built commercial units in these estates is indicative of the consideration of practical and social facilities for residents, and this retail unit would thus have been an important focal point in the area.

I've always loved this building. It's beautiful.

Then the wind whipped up again, I got some sense and hightailed it back home. That wind would lift you out of it...

Here's some more images I've taken of the place

STOP at the Lilliput Press - One of my first long-exposure shots

Viking Place - exhibited in RHA Summer Exhibition 2017

Open House - The National Library

October 16, 2017

1885-90 by T.N. & T.M Deane. such a beautiful place...it's always a pleasure to walk in here. The Reading room has got to be one of the most spectacular rooms in the country.

Open House - Pigeon House

October 15, 2017

Open House - alway one of my favourite events in Dublin, where we get the chance to snoop around places we normally can't get access to.

I've been meaning to get down to Pigeon House Generating Station for years, but it never worked out for me.

I was delighted this year to get to see the place. It's a magnificent structure, and one of Ireland's largest protected structures. In a different city it would already be a major cultural destination. It could be our own version of the Tate modern; a place capable of holding major national and international exhibitions, while celebrating the architectural heritage associated with our industrial awakenings.

Instead it's been left to decay...held together by little more than its own mass and rusty bolts. I feel that the recent location nearby of the Poolbeg incinerator was a dreadful piece of muddied planning. It has provided a complicated context for the area's future redevelopment.

It has effectively designated this section of the coastline as an industrial wasteland. They might say that emission levels are strictly controlled and all that palaver, but there is an undeniable bang of something unnatural when you're down there...such a shame.

And all the while the city continues to stretch eastward...

I wish Dublin City Architects well with their endeavours to protect and revive this important building. It deserves it.

The passageway to Henrietta Street, between the hall (right) and Library (left) ranges

Kings Inns

October 11, 2017

1800, by the great James Gandon, completed in 1817 by Francis Johnson. Read more on the history of the building here

Laneways

September 29, 2017

I've always been a big fan of laneways...back alleys, rat-runs through the city. I've gotten to know Dublin fairly well over the years...but luckily my friend Cormac McMullan knows parts of it that I never even knew were there. I have him to thank for many of the locations in my photos. Sometimes we go on visits, nighttime tourists in our own city.

You see the city differently in the half light.

These photos, and more to follow, are taken in a fantastic network of laneways to the rear of Georgian townhouses between Rathmines and Ranelagh. Some of them feel almost like little country lanes. Amazing places.

I'm going to be back here a lot...

Check out some of Cormac's amazing photos here

MacGillycuddy Reeks

September 20, 2017

Dark and brooding...but I could watch the sun roll over those slopes all day.

Stargazing

September 20, 2017

I spent an evening under the stars on Inchydoney beach. It's the only time I've ever seen the full arc of the Milky Way in Ireland. West Cork is often mentioned as having incredible dark skies, perfect for stargazing.

It was great...but what struck me was the light pollution emanating from two nearby hotels. Although neither are enormous developments, the glare from them had a hugely detrimental effect on the clarity of the stars overhead. I guess, their lights was made all the more striking by the pure darkness that surrounded them.

I went off to the shadows, hiding from their effects, and watched the heavens spin by. What a sight. It never ceases to amaze me.

I'm an utter novice when it comes to capturing the stars with photography...it's something I'm going to work hard on to better.