Cúchulainn | Roaringwater Journal

Water worlds – in a Dublin park, above and in the wilds of West Cork, below

It’s over two years since I had a round up of the odd, quirky – or perhaps just very Irish – things that catch my eye during our travels. I called that post Juxtapositions. Here’s another collection of images that have fascinated me enough to record them with the camera. As in Juxtapositions, I have tried to show these pictures in context where it counts – or just let them speak for themselves. Sometimes I’ve added a little text, perhaps to amplify why I have been attracted by certain Impressions…

Gentrified Lions at Powerscourt, Co Wicklow, and a domesticated version, above

Some high things…

…and some little things…

Startling Impressions…

Above left – an ancient stone cross in an urban setting, and – above right – the statue of Cúchulainn – a memorial to the 1916 uprising: an impossible-to-photograph icon in a poignant setting, the General Post Office building, Dublin. On the 24 of April (Easter Monday) 1916, about 2,000 Irish Volunteers and 200 from the Irish Citizen Army occupied the General Post Office as well as other important buildings in the city. They proclaimed the Irish Republic, read the Proclamation and raised the Irish flag for the first time. The British army shelled the GPO and other buildings. After a week’s fighting, the leaders of the rising surrendered: most suffered execution by firing squad. Many civilians died in the cross-fire. The guns and fires had destroyed much of the city and the GPO was in ruins. All this happened in Twentieth Century Great Britain…

Rust and relics…