Abandoned church, Great Connell, Newbridge

I came across this abandoned building in Newbridge. It's in the middle of a graveyard, a small church at a crossroads. Still open to the elements, and ruined inside though if you look carefully you might be able to see it had beauty once.

A lath and plaster ceiling once...


Colour view.



Black and White.

Corbally Branch - where does it go?

There was a question in the back of my mind for a long number of years - I knew the Grand Canal left Naas harbour in 2 channels, one toward Sallins, and the other was mystically called the Corbally Branch. I ner knew of a place called Corbally, and I never had the idea to Google it (though if I had I'd have found out all about it).



Until one day, I was travelling from Kilcullen to Newbridge along some backroads and I passed what turned out (after I checked some online maps!) to be the ruined harbour at Corbally. Click!


View Larger Map

A number of weeks since, I took an opportunity to take the camera out and make some picturegraphs to share.  It looks like an old harbour, with some buildings next to it. What the buildings were for, I'm not sure, but they're pretty ruined now - maybe stores for a local business?





Of course, it was a beautiful day. I'd intended to walk along the canal, but poorly I chose the eastern bank and soon the way was blocked by gorse and brambles - the western towpath seems a bit easier, but if you're a sheep, leave your dog at home. (really though, there are sheep farmers here, so do leave your dogs at home!)



Further research (see links below!) notes that this is a feeder, much like Pollardstown Fen for the canal. It's about 5 miles out from Naas, so easily walkable with a picnic (though I say stay west, and check on maps first!).

Links:
http://iwai.ie/maps/grand/maps.grand.23.html
http://kildare.iwai.ie/
http://heritageboatassociation.ie/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=352&Itemid=43

Fionn, Bran, agus Sceolan.

We really are blessed with the art, including public art, produced in this country. You only have to drive the motorways to see some beautiful work, including the ball at Naas, horse and rider at Sligo, some (recently stolen, shame) works on the M7 outside Monasterevin, and many many others the length and breadth of the country. A small percentage of public money from some projects is put aside to provide this art (I believe this was paid for as part of the proceeds from parking revenue in Newbridge), and it's a great thing - I hope art doesn't get too much more of a whittling in the near future.



Anyway, the most recent work I've seen is the work just off the Curragh (Ballymany) interchange south of Newbridge on the M7. By Lynn Kirkham, it's title is "Fionn Mac Cumhaill and his hounds" - more info here. It's a hugely impressive trio of steel, well, sculptures is the wrong word, but figures doesn't capture their majesty, and domination of the roundabout.

I love the styling on the figures, it's got a great martial feel to it, capturing the great legendary warrior and his transmuted nephews (Bran and Sceolan were once human nephews of Fionn) very well.



I hope the rest of my photos speak for themselves!

Some further photographs from the Parade in Newbridge

Wow! I never had as many visitors as I did yesterday, with everyone googling for newbridge parade stuff! So, in case any of you are return visitors, I added a few more pictures today, 2 of the fire brigade and 3 of the Muscle cars at the back of the parade....

Fire Brigade (happy campers!)


More Fire Brigade, in dry suit and in Fire Kit.


V8 power - Camaro and Mustang (and noise!)







I hope you have enjoyed my pictures, I enjoyed taking them.

Parade, Newbridge, Co. Kildare - St. Patrick's Day

Took a trip to Newbridge to see their parade today, and you might be expecting this - I took some photos. There was a fantastic selection of bands, dancers, clubs, and a variety of vehicles from fire engines to vintage cars, from muscle cars to tractors. Congratulations to all involved, it was a great show!

You can see my photos at http://pix.ie/brianp/album/404765! But if not, here are a few for your viewing pleasure.

Drummer - St Conleth's band.


Moorefield GFC's security detail on the trophy trailer...






St. Bathrick was there.....


As was St Patrick, banishing the snake - or was the snake banishing him?


Some pretty capable looking young boxers too...


And some bouncy castles....though this was a momentary loss of air, which was soon restored without any drama!


So again, well done to everyone involved, it was an impressive parade, about an hour and a half's worth. Hopefully it (and the other parades) will have lifted spirits a little. Certainly the cafés and pubs were flat out afterwards!

I may post some more photos later on, but the best are at pix.ie.

I should mention that if anyone wants to use any of the images, drop me a note in the comment box and I'll drop you an email back.

Tune in over the next few days for some pictures of Fionn and his hunting dogs!

A beautiful day, a walk at lunch....

Today was a beautiful spring day, once the fog burnt off. I felt a bit trapped, sitting in the office, blinds closed to reduce the glare of the sun on my screen, so once lunchtime came, I went for a walk down by the river. Of course I took the camerabox with me, and took some snaps.

The daffodils are just blooming now, they're not all up but some are. This pair were getting quite close:


On around the bend in the river, I just about got a picture of this pair, who were getting quite close but for different reasons. Should have been quicker with the camera, I might have got something better:


Later on, as the sun was setting over the Curragh, I tried to take a pic of Fionn and his hounds at the roundabout, and I caught this piece of bark - seems to me to have lots of colour and warm texture so, here it is!


The photo I took of the statue is a bit dull. I'll have to cross into the "island" to get any sort of dramatic photo.

I've been playing with my new Tripod, and enjoying comedy! Not in that order...

Tonight, for a change, I took some photographs. But only after I saw some funny.

Thanks to the guys at Schnitzel, sorry, Schnitzel comedy club, there was a very enjoyable Diet of Worms show at the riverbank this evening. Preceded by Gearoid Farrelly, Alan Bennett (MC) and Mikey, who isn't 26, these guys made me laugh a lot. Again. Having seen them before (call of the puffincat) I was expectant of ribtickling, but this was a hilarious play (and well-acted, too) rather than a hilarious live sketch show.

Set in Strollinstown, the main character is a developer who's been hiding the Recession from his wife. Liberally sprinkled with hilarity, there's also a sense of satire in that maybe we've all been hiding from the recession a little bit.... all good comedy is intelligent too. And this was, and is, good comedy. Go and see it if you get the chance.

And now that I have a tripod, I've been able to take some of the photos I was aching to take for ages - St Conleth's church in Newbridge is very nicely lit up at night, as is the extended bridge in Liffey. Width-wise, that extension was, not lengthwise - the Liffey hasn't expanded. Much.

So, here they are, linked in all their photographical glory to my pix.ie account - enjoy, if you can! Comment if you like!


It really is well lit up. I'm sure that more can be done with this photographically, but I chose to stick with a 50mm prime and see how it worked. Lovely lights, you'll agree!


Interestingly, and I'd hoped I'd timed it properly, the red and green lights are simultaneously on in this image! Some nice light trails there, but they were a bit overpowering. More traffic would be needed for this, so maybe earlier than 2230 for the next shoot! Also it was cold. :(



Does this make sense? I like it!

Pollardstown Fen, Kildare; Or somewhere I've been meaning to go for aaaaaaaages

This morning, with the weather being so nice and all, I decided to scout out a local conservation area that's been at the back of my mind for some years now (it even came up as a suggestion for a Young Scientists Competition entry, but that's another story that I've forgotten....).



Pollardstown Fen, Co. Kildare, with car parking located just at the M in Morristownbiller in the map below:


View Larger Map

It's a large area, and boggy (Well, I suppose fenny, but it's hard to write that without laughing...) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service have installed a boardwalk about 2km or so in length so that you can easily see what the fen is all about. In brief, it's an area on the outskirts of the Curragh plains, where the limestone brings a lot of underground water to the surface in numerous springs (Father Moore's well, nearby, probably being another one of these). This water in turn creates a fen, or marshland, which is first and foremost an important habitat (you remember those snails that held up the Kildare bypass?) and secondly a source of water for the Grand Canal!



It was quiet today - I was alone (there were flowers to be chosen!) and only as I left did another car or 2 come into the car park. There were also very few birds, though had I spent longer there, or in another part of the year, I may have had more to look at - though I was too slow with my camera when I spotted a kestrel hovering!

It's overwhelmingly reedy, and the area of the fen is substantially larger than covered by the walkway, but I don't know how safe or wise or environmentally friendly it would be to try to explore off the boardwalk.



In other news this weekend there was a familial meeting which went well, and a fine view of the ISS (which seemed to interest all those in the familial meeting!) and the almost-docked Discovery space shuttle. I have my 10x50 Pentax binos to thank for being able to discern the 2 points of light, and although it's "just a moving star" there's added significance when you know what you're looking at. I've added a useful tracker to the right hand side you might have noticed.

Oh, and for further information on the fen, why not have a look at the sites below:
National Parks and Wildlife service factsheet 
Bord na Mona info
Inland Waterways info

Enjoy!

Ah, comedy - refreshment for the soul!

We're just back from the Riverbank Theatre, Newbridge, where we'd been to see a comedy show. It was a Schnitzel comedy club night, with the Diet of Worms headlining. Who are the Diet of Worms, you ask?

Well, it's not this, which I remember from Junior Cert history, rather it's a fairly hilarious group of 5 comedians, and a puffincat. Highlights include Bovbov the puppet, the puffincat, and many other sketches. See them when you can, because you will enjoy it - they're excruciatingly funny!

Also causing much mirth and merriment was this chap, Gearoid Farrelly. Great entertainment altogether.

Pizza n books.

Barbecues with too many charcoal briquettes and pizza are not good friends, unless you want the pizza to be utterly nuked... It looked fine 2 minutes ago, honestly... Oh, I dunno. Not fun. I might try again, with less coals, but next pizza will be from the ordinary oven anyway.

So I've released 3 books today, trying to revive bookcrossing singlehandedly. Chat n chew coffee shop in Newbridge has a book swap shelf already, so that's the drop point of choice. It's kinda handy, though I had a look through some of the books and none of them had a bookcrossing ID, so maybe it's not caught on.

A comedic encounter

Went to see Jason Byrne this evening, at the Riverbank in Newbridge. He's quite the funny guy - well able to string a show together, seemingly at random. Be warned though, he is "interactive" so steer clear of the front rows if you're shy! The usual themes apply, the irish family, mass, priests, and with it being Valentine's (whatever that is), a bit of the old luuuuuv etc. In short, I'd recommend him.

Weeping Thaiger, The.

A Restaurant in Newbridge. Dropped in for some grub this evening, got a table promptly, chose our main course (we weren't going for starters, wine or desserts tonight) and ordered. I had a Thai chicken fried rice dish and M had some sort of Thai dish. Both were nice, and plentiful and arrived promptly. We ate and enjoyed our tasty dishes.
We paid promptly and left promptly. Apart from the prompting, it was a good meal, tasty and not too spicy - because that's important on a Thursday. €32.00 for 2 main courses. Recommended.