Travelling to Ireland--Interesting and Unusual Places to Photograph

[robertbrown]

I'm leaving for Ireland late Tuesday afternoon for two weeks. Our

B&B's will be in Dublin, Kilkenny (spelling), Limerick, Galway, and

Sligo. My family (me, wife, and 8-year-old twins) will be motoring

around the countryside, wasting fossil fuel and scaring the locals

with my driving.

 

Any input you might have on out-of-the-way and unusual places to

photograph and visit would be greatly appreciated. Also any

suggestions about pubs and restaurants is also of interest. I've

read several guidebooks, but I've gotten several very good

suggestions from photo.net members on previous trips.

 

For gear, I'll be bringing a Canon EOS system with two bodies, one

for black and white and one with slide film. Also will be bringing

along a Hasselblad for when the mood strikes--usually will shoot

black and white. In general I like to shoot scenics and architecture.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Bob

[Troll]

Keep to the LEFT!!!!

[robertbrown]

Thanks for the advice, Bill. So far four driving trips in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and only one really stupid move (and I've been driving sticks)! But that's always good advice!

[tom.s]

Hi Bob, interesting and unusual, mmm.. It may not fit the bill but my personal favourite place in Ireland is the county of Leitrim. About an hour's drive from Sligo town, it's a mountainous, lake filled place with nice little villages here and there. Worth checking out for a day or two shooting. If your travelling from Dublin to Limerick you will go through County Clare, hang a right after Neenagh and you'll come across two little villages called Ballina/Killaloe. A lovely place. Some very nice restaurants and pubs, the one on the bridge is good, (can't remember the name). Brian Boru's fort is also in the area as well as some monastic islands on the lake. I'm not as well travelled about Ireland as I should be, I've lived here all my life, and driven through every county at some time with work, but never had time to stop and enjoy. I would advise a visit to the tourist info place on Andrew s in Dublin. You get all the info you need on all things and places Irish. And while your in Dublin, take a walk around the many squares in the city centre, Merrion square in particular has some beautiful architecture, including Government Buildings and several Museums.

Hope you have a great trip,Regards,Tommy.

[Rick Waller]

While you are in the west close by to Limeric and south of Galway are Kerry, Dingle and, jeez, I forgot the name of the southernmost of the three peninsulas. If you like landscape scenics, this is the area for you. The Ring of Kerry obviously had the best public relations people since it is by far the most heavily crowded, mostly by big, lumbering, smoke belching tour buses. If you must do the Ring of Kerry, go from the north to the south, which is opposite of the way most of the buses go. Kerry has most of the famous lakes and is truly beautiful, but the crowds are murder.

 

I personally prefer the Dingle loop. I find the scenery to be more rugged and the road less travelled. And as an added bonus, the actual town of Dingle is a wonderful place to have dinner and spend the night. Simply gorgeous seaside scenery; it is most famous (to Americans) as the location for the Robert Mitchum movie Ryan's Daughter and the Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman movie where the two first met before getting married. I was actually in Dingle while that movie, Far and Away, was being shot.

 

The third of the peninsulas is the southern most and is called, damn - I can't remember - something like Argagh. This is the least crowded of the three and qite scenic. I personally recommend doing Dingle if you can choose only one. If you have the time, you can easily blow 2 or 3 days touring all 3 loops. Truly memorable scenery.

 

On your way north of Galway, the two major scenic highlights are the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. The cliffs are, well cliffs and quite scenic and the Burren is the area in Europe where the Glaciers stopped their southern movement during the ice age. What makes this area fascinating is that it is almost entirely rock pushed down by the glaciers. There is little earth and green grass or meadows which is pretty rare in Ireland. Interesting flowers and other flora grow through the rocks. Consult any map for these two major attractions.

 

One last warning - do not take the driving lightly. I have driven often in British countries and driving on the left is one thing, but the roads in Ireland are particularly narrow and that, combined with the never ending lineup of pubs make for a dangerous place to drive. There are warning signs everywhere as the country is in the midst of a crackdown on unsafe driving since it became infamous for having the 2nd highest vehicular death toll in all of Europe. (greece is first).

 

Signs constantly inform you of the number of deaths on the roads in a particular county for the year as you cross county lines. I cannot stress this enough. A road no wider than my driveway with stone walls on either side instead of a shoulder is a common two way thorofare occupied by buses and trucks (lories). Driving on the left is an unnatural act unless you are British or Japanese and in emergency situations, your instinctual reaction is to swerve right. Keep my warning in your mind each and every time you come to the everpopular roundabouts. (traffic circles to us). Driving around a circle on the wrong side of the road and then trying to figure out how to exit the damn thing is guaranteed to make your palms sweat.

 

And believe it or not, there are so many non british drivers driving the Irish roads that you can't even rely on the skill of the native drivers to avoid an accident. A German or Frnech or Dutch driver and and American driver, each uncomfortable with driving on the left and coming at each other around a blind curve on a narrow road without shoulders having had a pint or two with lunch and....well you get the picture.

 

Otherwise, have fun.

[martin_krobbach]

I guess Eric is referring to the Aran Island, which is impressive for the fact that the locals used seaweed to generate a thin layer of soil. (No use importing sheep when they starve to death). If you want unusual, go to Knock north of Galway. Hundreds of Souvenir shops selling plaster statues of the Virgin Mary and bottles to collect holy water in the park where there are hundreds of man made fountains running on holy (tab) water.

[Rick Waller]

Actually Martin, I wasn't referring to the Aran Islands, although they are certainly a wonderful place to visit close by to the Burren in Galway bay. The Burren is an area on the mainland of Ireland where rock is the predominent feature.

Go to;

 

http://www.burrenpage.com/

 

I also forgot to mention that while in the Kilarney area, do not miss the Gap of Dunloe. Take the jaunty cart through the gap and out to Kate Kearney's cottage. The gap is, surprising as it may sound, a gap in the mountains surrounded by lakes, and the horse car ride is a highlight, especially if you get a good driver.

 

see:

 

http://www.vacationkillarney.com/Gap-trip.htm

[kieran_hamill]

I would recommend O'Sullivans, and The Feathers is worth a visit too, though if you like a pie or cheese toastie as well you may prefer The Horse & Jockey.

[phil doherty]

You really can't go all that wrong...it's a gorgeous country, there are old buildings and ruins everywhere, and the people are unbelievably friendly everywhere you go (and there are plenty of good pubs...both touristy and not). Try to do what I didn't do (and what most Irish recommend)...try to spend more time in fewer places instead of trying to see it all and travelling every day. The distances are close in miles, but for the above reasons, it can take you 3-4 hours to drive 60-80 miles. Believe me...you'd much rather spend your days enjoying the places and people instead of the roads.

 

Bring your film with you, because it's tough to find anything other than ISO 200 color film once you leave Dublin.

[andrew_hull]

The highest auto fatality rate now goes to...Portugal.

[soboyle www.oboylephoto.co]

I found shooting in Ireland a challenge because of the very bright cloudy skies, a graduated ND filter would have been handy for landscape shooting. I would recommend a film with a wide exposure latitude, perhaps a negative film of your choice, otherwise your skies will be blown out, or your landscapes under exposed. Who knows, maybe you'll be lucky and see some blue skies when your there.

[gearoid_osullivan]

A must see location is The Burren in County Clare. A textbook example of a karst landscape (limestone pavements extending for miles). It looks like an alien world, quite at odds with the lush greenery of the surrounding area. There are many unusual plants as well hidden in the cracks of the limestone.

 

I'm sure there are many picture opportunities along the Shannon river as well as most of the west coast. The ring of Kerry and West Cork are easier to recommend as there are so many things to see. It has gotten quite touristy though. Not sure if you're going to go down that far. The Dingle peninsula in particular has loads of good photo opportunites in a relatively small area. Roads are narrow and wind a lot so I hope you are comfortable driving on the left.

 

Two distinct tourist spots that I can think of up the country are Bunratty Castle in County Clare (you also have the Cliffs of Moher in the same county), and Newgrange in County Meath. Newgrange is one of the oldest structures in the world, and can look spectacular at times (but equally can look like a non-descript earthen mound).

 

Since you mention Kilkenny, there is a castle there which I hear is lovely but haven't seen myself.

 

Will put on the thinking cap, and see what else i can think of.

 

All the best, Gearoid

[kevin conville]

I can't speak directly to the areas you mentioned but last year I did a walking trip

through County Donegal and found great photo ops there. If you want a look see...

http://www.contaxg.com/folder.php?id=987

[matt drown photos]

I went to ireland over christmas last year, and spent a week doing, dublin - belfast - galway. On the way through stopped a couple different castles and area's to go to.

 

Galway had some nice area's to spend some time on. The giant's causeway was interesting to go to, lots of neat hexagonal rock formations. I would have liked to spend some more time investigating castles along the way, but limitted budget and time.

 

I have pictures online at: http://www.dhp.com/~panzer/dc/scotland/

 

(I was in scotland for a week also)

 

If you see something you like, feel free to get in touch and I can tell you were it was.

[jeff_berlat]

Although you are back, this is for others going. I found that photographing the Celtic Crosses gave me ample opportunity to be creative. We had some good sunny days and if you find a good cemetary, the crosses are very nice.

[richard thompson www.fotoz]

If your going to Northern Ireland, then go to "Giants Causeway" for some hexagonal madness ! Do a google on it if you don't know what it is. Its spectacular !