Category Archives: Wexford
A few snaps
Atlanta about to make a wish
I have disappeared off the blogging radar in recent times. This has been largely due to a combination of being very busy and a lack of inspiration when windows of opportunity do arise.
I took the neglected Nikon out yesterday for my niece Savannah’s Communion celebrations and some of those photos are below.
I have also included a few snaps I took on a couple of the other rare occasions I have briefly taken the camera out lately.
Hopefully, this post will kickstart more regular photo taking and posting.
Savannah puts her shoes back on to restore the full Communion outfit after a spin on the bouncy castle
One of the many colourful flowers in my mother’s garden
If you look closely into Savannah’s eye you’ll see the photographer
This tree at Johnstown Castle definitely has a story to tell
Laura’s smile. My leg
Strawberries
Laura and Savannah draw in the sand oblivious to the fact that Shauna has let a rock go behind them…
The Aftermath!
A pretty impressive rhododendron, as seen from across the lake at Johnstown Castle
A rhododendron casualty floating on the lake
Savannah and Shauna at the former’s Communion celebrations
Laura skims a stone at Cullenstown Beach
Atlanta navigates a rocky path across the water
Laura drying her hair
Rusty and I relaxing in the car boot before heading for a walk
Gianna
Savannah takes off
Neglected fountain at Johnstown Castle
Johnstown Castle
Atlanta makes her way…
To make her mark
An evening walk in Duncannon
I spent the weekend at home in Wexford.
Before leaving yesterday (Sunday) evening, my mother (Phyl); her three eldest grandchildren, Shauna, Atlanta and Savannah; Rusty (the most blogged about dog in Wexford) and I all set off for a walk on nearby Duncannon Beach.
The wind was really strong, the tide was right in, it was freezing cold… and a lot of fun!
The sun was setting as we came back up the beach too, which made for a pretty picture – one I don’t do justice to with these photos.
Thanks as ever to my willing young models and apologies to their mother (Amy) for sending them home slightly wet and mostly covered in sand!
Footsteps in the sand (Atlanta)
Rusty and Shauna
Phyl and Savannah
Savannah
Koala in the long grass
Messing
The result of the messing – Savannah came off worse!
More messing
One of the two poor, dead seals we came across…
And the other one
Savannah
Shauna on the first of the two crucial rocks for the stream crossing
Atlanta and Phyl
Sisters jumping!
Looking towards the South Beach housing estate
Atlanta and her cold face!
Savannah preparing for take off
Atlanta taking off
Granddaughter and grandmother fleeing the waves as the sun disappears
Festive Season Odds and Ends
Here are some photos from the days between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. They can be broken down into roughly three sections.
Hook Head: We took a walk in Hook Head on a very wild day and it was beautiful, with waves crashing against the rocks and the foam and spray creating its very own white Christmas for the visitors braving the elements. However, I had no tripod as I lost it here on Christmas Day after leaving it behind me and, in any event, the wind was so strong it was impossible to stand still, let alone hold a camera still. In fact the first thing we heard on the radio after getting into the car to drive to the Hook was to stay away from exposed coastal areas due to extremely strong gale force winds… but we weren’t the only people ignoring that sound advice! The light was poor too, so hence the pretty awful image quality, which does not even do scant justice to the beauty of the Hook that day. I’ll get it right there some stormy day!
Curracloe: Another walk. This time in my favourite place, which I have blogged about many times before on here. Again my missing tripod would have been a great help due to the low, fading light, but I took a few shots anyway. Plus, tripod or not, they would have been no match for Curracloe on a sunny day.
Round the house: These mostly involved testing my new lens by pointing it randomly at various household objects and patient relatives, as well as taking a few shots of my sister’s family – another of this blog’s regular star turns – when they came to visit.
Happy Rusty!
My dog Rusty having a ball at Curracloe yesterday. I got lots of photos of him having fun, but this is my favourite.
Christmas Day in Cullenstown
So we decided to ward off Christmas cabin fever by getting out for a couple of hours earlier.
My brothers Declan and Pádaí, our friend Anthony and I headed for the nearby Cullenstown Strand.
It was a beautiful, clear day, with the clouds and inevitable rain only closing in just as we left.
The lads mostly played hurling and I mostly took photographs during the preceding two hours or so.
Anthony, for an Aussie who has never played hurling before, proved a natural.
The exercise and sea air primed use well for a delicious Christmas dinner back in the Cullen household.
Anthony, Declan and Pádaí
I’m not the only one who takes photos around here – Anthony in action!
Shell Cottage
This is a cottage located in Cullenstown in Co Wexford, a very small seaside spot that was the subject of my previous post. However, I felt this remarkable building was worth its own post.
It is known locally as the “Shell Cottage” and it is a charming, thatched cottage. What really sets it apart though is that it is covered entirely in sea shells – as are all the out buildings beside it.
The wide variety of shells, comprising all sorts of shapes, colours and sizes, were collected, carefully arranged and placed on the cottage by the late Kevin Ffrench, who is commemorated on a plaque on his former home (pictured below).
This is a fantastic piece of design work and must have required extraordinary imagination, skill and patience. It is not only beautiful, but entirely in keeping with the surroundings.
The intricate designs and patterns on the walls of the buildings include the well-known Wexford landmark Tuskar Lighthouse and the “Mexico”, a Schooner which was the subject of an ill-fated rescue attempt that saw nine members of Fethard Lifeboat die in 1914.
Cullenstown Strand
I am back home again this weekend. I woke up early on Saturday and Dad, the other early riser, and myself decided to go for a walk.
Cullenstown Strand is a short drive from our house and it’s a small beach, but just about the right size for Dad at the moment as he builds his health and fitness back up following major heart surgery recently.
He has been doing really well and walking a little bit more every day, but as he said himself, has been getting fairly fed up of laps of the house!
Well, he couldn’t have wished for a better change of scenery, as Saturday was absolutely and unexpectedly beautiful. The sun was splitting the stones in Wexford and as we arrived at Cullenstown we could have been somewhere on the Indian Ocean, not the Atlantic, in Ireland, in October…
