Irish Photograph - St Brendan the Navigator

Saint Brendan of Clonfert or Bréanainn of Clonfert (c. 484 – c. 577) (Irish: Naomh Breandán; Icelandic: Brandanus) called "the Navigator", "the Voyager", or "the Bold" is one of the early Irish monastic saints. He is chiefly renowned for his legendary quest to the "Isle of the Blessed," also called Saint Brendan's Island. The Voyage of Saint Brendan could be called an immram (Irish navigational story). He was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Saint Brendan's feast day is celebrated on 16 May. 

Irish Photograph -

The Silent Valley Reservoir is a reservoir located in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down, Ireland. It supplies most of the water for County Down, surrounding counties and most of Belfast. It is owned and maintained by Northern Ireland Water Limited (formerly DRD Water Service). The reservoir was built between 1923 and 1933 by a workforce of over one thousand men. 

Irish Photograph - On Strangford Lough

Strangford Lough is a large sea loch or inlet in County Down,Ireland. It is separated from the Irish Sea by the Ards Peninsula. The name Strangford is derived from Old Norse: Strangr-fjǫrðr meaning "strong fjord"; describing the fast-flowing narrows at its mouth. It is called Loch Cuan (formerly anglicised as Lough Cuan) in Irish, meaning "calm lough". It is a popular tourist attraction noted for its fishing and the picturesque villages and townships which border its waters. These include Portaferry on the Ards Peninsula, which is connected to Strangford across the lough by a car ferry.

Irish Photograph - O'Briens Tower Co Clare

O'Brien's Tower marks the highest point of the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland, located a short distance from the village Doolin, famous for its traditional Irish music.The tower was built on the cliffs in 1835 by local landlord Cornellius O'Brien as an observation tower for the hundreds of Victorian tourists that frequented the cliffs at the time. On a clear day the view can extend as far as Loop Head at the southern tip of Clare and beyond to the mountains of Kerry. Looking north from O'Brien's Tower on clear days, the Twelve Bens in Connemara (also known as the Twelve Pins) beyond Galway Bay can be seen, and typically the Aran Islands to the west.

Irish Photograph - The Ha'penny Bridge Dublin

The Ha'penny Bridge (Irish: Droichead na Leathphingine, or Droichead na Life), known later for a time as the Penny Ha'penny Bridge, and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland.Made of cast iron, the bridge was cast at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, England.Originally called the Wellington Bridge (after the Duke of Wellington), the name of the bridge changed to Liffey Bridge. The Liffey Bridge (Irish: Droichead na Life) remains the bridge's official name to this day, although it is still commonly referred to as the Ha'penny Bridge.

Irish Photograph - The Giants Ring Belfast

The Giant's Ring is a henge monument at Ballynahatty, near Shaw's Bridge, Belfast, Ireland. The site consists of a circular enclosure, 180m (590ft) in diameter and 2.8 hectares (6.9acres) in area, surrounded by a circular earthwork bank 3.5m (11ft) high. At least three of the five irregularly spaced gaps in the bank are intentional and possibly original. East of the centre of the enclosure is a small passage tomb with a vestigial passage facing west. There were reports of other tombs outside the enclosure, but there is no trace of these.

Irish Photographs - The Cloughmore Stone

Cloughmore, known locally as "The Big Stone" (from Irish: an Chloch Mhór meaning "the big stone"), is a huge granite boulder found about 1,000 feet (300m) above the village of Rostrevor, County Down, Ireland, on a relatively flat area on the side of Slieve Martin.

The granite boulder (approximately 30 tons in weight), is an erratic, which was probably transported from Scotland (from an island in Strathclyde bay[3]) and deposited by retreating ice during the last Ice Age – however local legend has it that the stone was thrown from the Cooley Mountains, on the other side of Carlingford Lough, by the giant Fionn mac Cumhaill. 

Irish Landscape Picture. The Mountains of Mourne - Co.Down

The Mourne Mountains  are a granite mountain range inCounty Down in the north-east of Ireland and includes the highest mountains in the province ofUlster. The highest of these is Slieve Donard at 850 metres (2,790 ft). The Mournes is an area of outstanding natural beautyand is partly owned by the National Trust and sees a large number of visitors every year. The name Mourne (historically spelt Morne) is derived from the name of a Gaelic clann or sept called the Múghdhorna.

Purchase from our website. 

Irish Landscape Pictures - Gougane Barra

View our new pictures of Gouganne Barra here.

Irish Landscape Photography Picture of the month January - Isle of Man Sunrise

In Manx mythology, the island was ruled by Manannán mac Lir, a Celtic sea god, who would draw his misty cloak around the island to protect it from invaders. One of the principal theories about the origin of the name Mann is that it is named after Manannan.

In the Manx tradition of folklore, there are many stories of mythical creatures and characters. These include the Buggane, a malevolent spirit who according to legend blew the roof off St Trinian's Church in a fit of rage; the Fenodyree; the Glashtyn; and the Moddey Dhoo, aghostly black dog who wandered the walls and corridors of Peel Castle.

The Isle of Man is also said to be home to fairies, known locally as the little folk or themselves. There is a famous Fairy Bridge and it is said to be bad luck if one fails to wish the fairies good morning or afternoon when passing over it. It used to be a tradition to leave a coin on the bridge to ensure good luck. Other types of fairies are the Mi'raj and the Arkan Sonney.

An old Irish story tells how Lough Neagh was formed when Ireland's legendary giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (commonly anglicised to Finn McCool) ripped up a portion of the land and tossed it at a Scottish rival. He missed, and the chunk of earth landed in the Irish Sea, thus creating the island.

Picture of the Week - Fastnet Lighthouse 

Fastnet Rock Lighthouse (Irish: Carraig Aonair, meaning "solitary rock / lone rock") is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and the most southerly point of Ireland. It lies 13 kilometres (8.1 miles) from County Cork on the Irish mainland.[1] 

Due to its location, Fastnet was known as 'Ireland's Teardrop' because it was the last part of the country that Irish emigrants would see as they sailed to the United States in the 19th century.

Fastnet Rock is used as the midpoint of one of the world's classic offshore yachting races, the Fastnet Race, a 1,126 kilometres (700 mi) round trip from Cowes, UK round the rock and back to Plymouth. It is also used occasionally as a mark for yacht races from local sailing centres such as Schull and Baltimore.