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Here we are again with Monkey flying high (not too high) over the coast of Sligo and the wonderful baronial style Classiebawn Castle. I know from memory that it was once owned by the Mountbatten family and that there were dark days ahead for the family in Mullaghmore in the late 1970’s.
Photographer: Alexander Campbell “Monkey” Morgan
Collection: Morgan Aerial Photographic Collection
Date: between 1954 -1957
NLI Ref: NPA MORPRINT86
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
Monkey Morgan was a long way from home base when he visited Sligo in July 1955. He leaves us with this excellent photo of Sligo jail and its environs. There does not seem to be much going on within the walls, I wonder why?
Photographer: Alexander Campbell “Monkey” Morgan
Collection: Morgan Aerial Photographic Collection
Date: July 1955
NLI Ref: NPA MOR1554
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
Tagesabschluss an der Strandhill Beach
Tagesabschluss an der Strandhill Beach
Tagesabschluss an der Strandhill Beach
Eine Wanderung zum Devil's Chimney Wasserfall
Eine Wanderung zum Devil's Chimney Wasserfall
Eine Wanderung zum Devil's Chimney Wasserfall
Eine Wanderung zum Devil's Chimney Wasserfall
Eine Wanderung zum Devil's Chimney Wasserfall
Eine Wanderung zum Devil's Chimney Wasserfall
Eine Wanderung zum Devil's Chimney Wasserfall
Eine Wanderung zum Devil's Chimney Wasserfall
Ballymote Castle is a large rectangular castle, built around 1300 by Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster (also known as the Red Earl). It was the last of the Norman castles to be built in Connacht, and probably built in order to protect the newly won possessions of Richard Óg de Burgh in County Sligo.
The Red Earl is also credited with building the ancient road from Boyle, County Roscommon to Collooney, known as Bóthar an Corann and as the Red Earls Road.
Ballymote castle is the most symmetrical of all the Irish "keepless" castles. It has many similarities with Beaumaris Castle, in Anglesey, Wales, which was built by King Edward I of England around 1295. The entrance, with a double towered gate, is in the north wall and had twin D-shaped towers. It has a gatehouse typical of the period, the outer portions of which have almost completely disappeared. The castle, however, remains an impressive structure. The interior measures about 30 square metres (320 sq ft). There are three-quarter round towers at all four corners and also in the middle of the east and west walls. A postern gate, which was planned for the centre of the south wall, was never completed, probably because of the events of 1317, when the castle was lost to the O'Connors. A small square tower had protected this gate.
The walls are about 3.0 metres (10 ft) thick and flanked with six towers. Passages of about 0.91 metres (3 ft) wide ran through the centre of the walls all around and the passages were built in such a way that they gave access to the towers, and to the intervening curtain walls at different heights, thereby meeting the needs of attack or defence.
No traces of any interior domestic buildings survive.
The castle changed hands many times since construction. It was captured by the O'Connors of Sligo in 1317, but was taken by the Mac Diarmada, during the course of local struggles, in 1347. By 1381 it had passed to the McDonaghs.
Although owned by Tadhg MacDermot, one of the last of the Kings of Moylurg in 1561, it appears to have passed to the O'Connor Sligo by 1571, at which time he surrendered the castle and had it regranted to him by James I of England. In 1577, the castle fell into English hands for a short period and then more permanently in 1584, when it was taken by the Governor of Connacht Richard Bingham. A lack of occupation levels implies that the building was virtually abandoned during the above period (from 1317 to 1584).
The O'Connors, O'Hartes and O'Dowds sacked the castle in 1588. The English surrendered it in 1598 to the MacDonaghs who sold it shortly afterwards to Red Hugh O'Donnell (one source says he bought it for £400 and 300 cows). It was from here that Red Hugh O'Donnell marched to the disastrous Battle of Kinsale in 1601. When the O'Donnells surrendered it to the English in 1602, it was already in a bad state of repair. In 1633, the Taaffes owned it for a short time, but had to surrender it again to the English Parliamentary forces in 1652. In the Williamite wars the castle was held by Captain Terence MacDonagh for King James II, but he had to surrender it to Lord Granard in the face of an artillery attack in 1690. Soon afterwards the fortifications were made harmless, the moat was filled up and the castle fell into ruins.
In more recent years the Office of Public Works have carried out preservation work on the castle.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballymote_Castle
Classiebawn Castle with Benbulben in the background, Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, Ireland. Formerly owned by the Mountbattens.
Life goes on at the Seaside, I was waiting for some Wheatears to show and I saw this through my 500mm lens and as I had never taken a scenic shot with this lens I thought it didn't come out too bad
A rather damp evening at Collooney station as 29428 / 29128 arrives as the lead 4 car set on a train from Sligo to Dublin Connolly.
The 29000 Class are a four-car Diesel Multiple Unit operated by Irish Rail / Iarnród Éireann. The units were built in Spain by CAF in two batches between 2002 and 2005.
The initial batch of 20 sets were built in 2002 and are now numbered 29101 / 29401 to 29120 / 29420. A further 9 sets were built in 2005 and they are numbered 29121 / 29421 to 29129 / 29429.
The units work most Northern Commuter, South Eastern Commuter and Western Commuter services and have proven to be a very reliable unit, despite operating a variety of demanding services, including Dublin - Sligo services.
All units are maintained at a purpose built depot at Drogheda.
In 2014, a new all-over two-tone green livery was introduced for the class. 29128 / 29428 displays this new Irish Rail / Iarnród Éireann Commuter livery.
The 22000 Class "InterCity Railcar" is a diesel multiple unit in service with Irish Rail / Iarnród Éireann in Ireland. They are the first IÉ DMUs built specifically for InterCity routes, although they can also work on some commuter routes. They are designed to operate at a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99.4 mph).
Supplied by Mitsui of Japan for approximately €400 million, the fleet was built by a partnership between Rotem of South Korea, who did the primary work, and Tokyu Car Corporation of Japan, who supplied the bogies. The first sets were delivered in March 2007, while the final sets were delivered in April 2012. As of 2015, there are 63 sets: 28, 3-car sets, 25, 4-car sets and 10, 5-car sets, in three different layouts. 22026 is one of the 3 car sets; one of 20 sets built between 2007 and 2009.