Tag: Wild Atlantic Way

Kinsale Walking Tour 4

A mysterious chili pepper and hidden watchers

MichaelStephenWills

The fourth of a series of idiosyncratic posts from a walking tour of Kinsale by Dermot Ryan. My Sony Alpha 700 captured the events back in May 2014.

This mural on the corner wall where Market Quay meets the Market Square. I puzzled over the following photograph until I recognized the Chili Pepper from the mural.

A colorful mural on Market Quay.
The Quay Food Company, Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland

Without Dermot Ryan’s storytelling I’d never have guessed this stub of a post was a bollard to which ships’ mooring lines were fastened. It follows the memorial bollard is close to the lane named “Market Quay.”

Across from the Kinsale Museum in Market Square is a post formerly used as a ship’s bollard in the harbor. Ships were unloaded here.

The Jim Edwards hotel and restaurant façade is a colorful and elegant element of Market Quay.

The facade and entrance on Market Quary for Jim Edwards hotel and restraunt.
Nautical theme shutters and sparce window box

Dermot told a tale about spies, looking from windows above the square, reporting on shortcomings of citizens.

SONY DSC
Looking up the hill from Market Square, Kinsale, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.
The Armada bar on Market Street Kinsale, County Cork named in memory of the scraps of the Spanish fleet driven to Ireland by storms, mostly to the west coast.
Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland This is a chain of stores in tourist spots throughout Ireland. This location is permanently closed, post COVID.
Patsy’s Corner (coffee shop), closed. Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland

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Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Kinsale Walking Tour 3

A story lurks….

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

The third of a series of idiosyncratic posts from a walking tour of Kinsale by Dermot Ryan. My Sony Alpha 700 captured the events back in May 2014.

Looking northwest along Market Quay toward Saint John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church seen rising above the rest. The Jim Edwards hotel on the right. This, and the next, photographs are an interesting, or not, slice of life on Market Quay this May day: a man in a striped apron carries packaged food, ostensibly a delivery, and it probably is.

Looking northwest along Market Quay toward Saint John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church.. the Jim Edwards hotel on the right.

A man in striped apron carrying a delivery (…or a story plot line….) walks in front of Victoria Murphy and Daughter, Real Estate Agent, storefront on Market Quay, Kinsale, County Cork, Republic of Ireland. Notice the store to left is vacant and handled by Victoria Murphy. That store front has high turnover: was occupied 2017, vacant again 2019 (as per Google Maps).

“Angle’s Secrets” storefront on Market Quay, Kins ale, County Cork, Republic of Ireland. I believe this building is owned by Victoria Murphy and Daughter Realty, the storefront second to the right. Don’t ask me how I know this as, no, I do not know it in the usual sense.

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Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Kinsale Walking Tour 2

Sensory Disconnect

MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

The second of a series of idiosyncratic posts from a walking tour of Kinsale. My Sony Alpha 700 captured the events back in May 2014.

Text from the current Facebook page: The Temperance Hall is Kinsale’s example of Victorian architecture, constructed in 1885. It provides a space to facilitate those within the community and is used on a regular basis by all walks of life. Temperance Hall is space that can be rented by the community through Finishing Services which is located in the heart of Kinsale or can be contacted on 021 477 3571. The hall is run by a voluntary community committee who oversee the day to day running and maintenance of the hall. This Space is used by many groups in the town some of which are: Youth Café, Set Dancing, Bowling, Drumming Circle, Kuk Sool One, Active Retirement Tae Kwan Do, Craft Fairs, Self Defence Class, Dance, Art Exhibitions, Kinsale District Court Service, and Many Fundraising Events. This space can be used for many events on a non-commercial basis for €10 per hour and all enquirers can by made to Finishing Services on 021 4773571.

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In “Dubliners,” Joyce uses sensory disconnect in evoke Gabriel’s epiphany, and effect the writing of this sign, quoting another writer, an American no less, near (next to…on?? Don’t recall) the Kinsale Temperance Hall.

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much champagne is just right….” –Mark Twain

All this is happening on Market Quay. A quay is a dock, historically ships were offloaded here.

The reverse of Temperance Hall, on Market Quay.

 

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Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

The Fulacht Fiadh: Insights from Drombeg’s Huts

Two Huts and a Hearth

MichaelStephenWills

Drombeg has two huts adjoining the Fulacht Fiadh with a connecting path.

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Hut B incorporates a rock lined hearth that possibly served as an oven.

Closer look at hut hearth, the Fulacht Fiadh in background.

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Fulacht Fiadh: Ancient Secrets Revealed

Survey of elements

MichaelStephenWills

The previous post was an overview the Fulacht Fiadh associated with the Drombeg Stone Ring of County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

In this post, we explore the elements of these fascinating remnants from the late Bronze Age, over 3,000 years ago.

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rock- lined pit

It is amazing the rock wall survived human need for the valuable wall stones. Portions were stolen, though for the most part we can see enough to understand.

rock- lined pit and hearth

View of entrance to the south from above the spring, visible is the rock lines cooking pit filled with ground water.

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Drombeg Fulacht Fiadh: Insights into Bronze Age Cooking

Drombeg’s Fulacht Fiadh, a Bronze Age cooking site, used heated stones to boil water for cooking, dyeing, and brewing.

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Notice the groupings of visitors in the middle distance of Pam’s photograph, gathered around remains of late Bronze age elements.

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There is a sign to explain…

Trach atá sa bhfulacht fiadh le brutháil teallach agus tobair lena ais agus atá dúnta ag falla cloiche íseal le hiontráil soir. Líonadh an traid trí clocha te a théamh ar theallach agus a n-aistriú isteach sa traid lán le huisce fuar. Léiríodh le turgnamh a rinneadh le linn na tochailte ar an áit i 1957 gur féidir 70 galún (318 lítear) d’uisce fuar a thabhairt chun boil in 18 nóiméad. Ansin bhíodh feoil ann is a cócaireacht. Maireann an t-uisce seo te ar feadh 3 n-uaire an chloig. Cuirtear úsáidí eile sa bhfulacht fia ar aghaidh, mar shampla folcadáin, ceardaíocht amhail ruaimniú agus grúdaireacht.

In modern Ireland the word fulacht means barbeque and the archeological sites with characteristics in common, such as a water source, health and pit, are named “Fulacht fiadh,” derived from Old Irish sources. In all cases the link is to some kind of preparation activity involving heat and moisture. Found throughout Ireland, Great Britan and the Isle of Man where the sites are called burnt mounds. The Drombeg Fulacht fiadh exemplifies all characterists. There is a horseshoe shaped rock walled/banked, now a remnant, enclosure, entrance to the south. In the middle is a pit, at Drombeg lined with rock, a spring on one side, a hearth on the other. A stone saddle quern, used for grinding grain, was nearby Adjacent huts, rock walls with post holes, do not suggest a settlement, but rather a temporary use.

View of entrance to the south from above the spring, visible is the rock lines cooking pit filled with ground water.

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Drombeg Stone Circle IX

Seventeen Stones

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Pam posing with wind blown hair on the rock outcrop I used to achieve site overviews. In medium distance, other visitors gather around another site feature.

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Drombeg Stone Circle VIII

Seventeen Stones

MichaelStephenWills9 Comments

The photograph shared the last Drombeg posting needed hours of reworking before it was ready for submission to Stock Photography services. Ireland photography is my “money maker”, so the effort is work this.

Today, I share the image as it existed in camera, to the final product. The most detailed work was removing the human figures in the upper right corner. The camera sensor was problematic, with an light accumulation of dust. Below are the two images, each alone and as slideshow for flipping back and forth.

What differences can you observe? (comments, please)

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Drombeg Stone Circle VI

Seventeen Stones

MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

Here is one of my finest photographs from that morning. The ocean view is a reason Drombeg is one of the most popular neolithic sites.

The Celtic Sea is close to this site, unoccupied since 800 BC, may be as old as 1100 BC according to radiocarbon dating from 1957 excavations. Thirteen of the original seventeen stones form a circle 31 feet across. Two portal stones face a recumbent stone, together forming a axis pointing to the sun position at sunrise on the winter solstice. One of the most visited Neolithic sites in Ireland, it required some patience to achieve an image without human figures.

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The camera is set on a tripod positioned in front of the recumbent.

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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Drombeg Stone Circle V

Seventeen Stones

MichaelStephenWills

The Celtic Sea is close to this site, unoccupied since 800 BC, may be as old as 1100 BC according to radiocarbon dating from 1957 excavations.

Click any pic for a larger view, in a new tab, or a slide show. When using WordPress Reader, you need to open the post first.

Road sign ourside the Drombeg Circle site, County Cork, Republic of Ireland
Portrait of Pam during our 2014 visit to the Drombeg Stone Circle of County Cork, Republic of Ireland

The Celtic Sea is close to this site, unoccupied since 800 BC, may be as old as 1100 BC according to radiocarbon dating from 1957 excavations. Thirteen of the original seventeen stones form a circle 31 feet across. Two portal stones face a recumbent stone, together forming a axis pointing to the sun position at sunrise on the winter solstice. One of the most visited Neolithic sites in Ireland, it required some patience to achieve an image without human figures.

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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved