Another oldie but one I remembered from a previous visit to Dublin Castle when a group of us went on a photowalk and also visited Dublin City Hall. The thing that stood out to me was this statue that had a quotation written on it “Property has its duties as well as its rights” by Thomas Drummond, a Scot who became the Under Secretary in Ireland in 1835, effectively the head of the Irish Civil Service. Given the property boom and subsequent crash it seems like we could use some of the same thinking in the Civil Service today.
After taking some photos from the corner I moved to the front and grabbed some photos. I half expected to be moved on but I guess the security dont mind photographers with tripods unlike other places I’ve heard.
A photo I took with my new B&W ND110 filter. I went into Dublin Castle and set up in one of the corners. The long exposure helps remove the tourists walking around.
While looking at the last photo from Ballymun I was reminded of another photo I had taken, of the Central Bank. Something about the window lines. You know for all the bad press the people of Ballymun get sometimes there are many of them I would trust more than the people who work in this building. Since the Euro came in I’m not sure what purpose the Irish Central serves anymore beyond the supervision and regulation of Irish banks and as we have all learned since the recession hit they weren’t bothered to do even that.
A couple of years ago a group of us from Flickr went on a photo walk in Ballymun. We wanted to photograph the flats before they were torn down. Rough and run down, the area was full of interesting things to photograph but it’s probably not the safest place to go taking photos on your own.
Another Newfoundland post. The communities of Newfoundland seem to have a great attachment to the sea and to boats. They are everywhere. Old boats, new boats, big and small. They also just tie them up beside the shore and no one takes them. Though who would steal a row boat I’m not sure. In Ireland kids would probably smash them for fun.
Every year there is a boat race on the river between UCD and Trinity. An old rivalry that in some way mirrors the Oxford Cambridge rivalry in England but without the pomp and circumstance. Most years when I see it I stumble up it by accident. Walking through town on a Saturday afternoon and I see the crowds gathering. I have no idea who wins and what they have to go through afterwards to wash the Liffey slime off themselves and their boats but it seems fun.
The ferris wheel on Merrion Square at last years St Patricks festival. Another old one but I’m that far back in my pile of “oh thats nice, maybe I’ll do something with it later” photos. I’ve spent too much time putting photos into that pile. Shame I didn’t get any decent photos from on top of the wheel itself. Leinster House and Government Buildings look much more impressive from ground level than up high.
A window from Dublin this time. On St Stephens Green some of the Georgian buildings are covered in ivy and when its summer the leaves almost blocks out the windows.
Here is another old photo, this time from Newfoundland last year. The Ferryland Lighthouse has been converted into a visitor center and cafe. It serves lovely home made food and lemonade in picnic baskets that visitors can take down to the cliffs to watch whales swim by.