Ballybunion, County Kerry

A few shots from our whistle-stop visit to the Kerry coastal town of Ballybunion here.

Walking down to the seafront, I first noticed an important political memorial above me (below):

And, of course, Ballybunion is renowned the world over for golf:

But what caught my eye the most was the castle ruin at the seafront:

Here, the sea was quite rough and richly atmospheric:

And the beach was predictably almost deserted:

Although my good friend and travelling companion, Dave Dealy, told me that Ballybunion Beach is never badly crowded, even during summer.

Yeah, it was nice to quickly stop off at Ballybunion on New Year's Day 2015.

St. Moling's Well, Brosna, County Kerry

Here, on New Year's Day 2015, I was making my way round to St. Moling's Holy Well in the pouring rain at Brosna village:
  

Despite the heavy rain, the well/shrine was quiet and solemn:

But I unwisely didn't take a drink from the well as I was too busy covering up from the rain:

Wish I had taken a drink as I came back from Ireland in early January with a pretty bad chest/throat infection which put me in bed for five days.

And there is the story about the miraculous birth of St. Moling in 614 from which the well is said to have sprung:

Despite the heavy rain, I found St. Moling's Well profoundly solemn and calm, a great resting place away from the crazy (post-) postmodern world that I must unfortunately live in:

Passing Through Tralee, County Kerry

Quickly stopped off at Tralee for something to eat on the way to Brosna on New Year's Eve.  The most impressive building in Tralee town centre seemed to be St. John the Baptist's church below:

Found the (what I guess is the) Gaelic football ground below fascinating:

And started poking around through nooks and crannies to get a few pictures of the inside of the football ground:

These Irish sports like Gaelic football or hurling, which I know absolutely nothing about, just give me a sense of being in a foreign country when I'm in Ireland:

The Sheep's Head Way: Gortnakilla Pier

Over the past few years, I've been fortunate enough to be able to walk different sections of the Sheep's Head Way.  Just before the New Year, I did the Bantry-Kilcrohane roadside stretch:

Of course, there was beautiful coastline scenery throughout the walk:

And we made our way down to the coastline to take a look at the old Gortnakilla Pier:

Passing old Potato Famine cottages on the way:

And then, finally, the water:

My travelling companion friend also told me that the land down here was now being used as a pony-trekking centre, set up by a young English woman:

Bantry: Looking Down on Bantry Bay

Above, we're passing the back entrance to the Earl of Bantry's House, while below we're coming into view of Bantry Bay:

Also passed some interesting-looking places on our walk such as the settlement below:

Here, we're up on the highland, next to an ancient monument, looking down onto Bantry Bay:

The 'Titanic Jetty', Cobh, Ireland

Couple of eerie pictures here of the jetty at Cobh (previously known as Queenstown), Ireland, where the Titanic had been docked before continuing its ill-fated journey:

Cobh (Gothic) Cathedral, County Cork, Ireland

 
Some of my pictures of the wonderful Gothic cathedral in Cobh, County Cork here:

First enjoyed getting a few shots from the car park facing the cathedral:

Slowly sliding down towards the port side, the cathedral still looked incredible from every angle:

And of course, down at port side, it could be seen majestically towering above the port town itself:

Like the shot below as the Gothic cathedral kind of fuses with the old Georgian-type buildings at port side:

And the cathedral inside contained an almost life-sized Nativity Scene: