Photo rally

Coyles cottage, number six on the map. In my last post on the rally I said I done one more rally point on the way home. Well this is it. Coyles cottages, the last remaining fishermans cottage on the shores of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.

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Got here late in the evening has the sun was starting to drop but the flies were multiplying. So it was a quick photo stop before heading the last 70 miles home.

Here’s a link to a little history of the cottage: Coyle’s Cottage

Hope to do another 3 rally points numbers 2,3 and four tomorrow. Enjoy whats left of the weekend, have fun.

Thank you for visiting,

George

Eye of Seoirse

 

 

Irish Photo Rally 2017 (3)

So out on the road again, this time over to Boyle in County Roscommon. This is listed has number 23 on the rally map, link Here .

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While getting this photo I met a local lady, No name given but was told a little of the history behind the steam driven motor and the generator sitting to the front. She lived outside the town when a child. She is 80 years young and bright has a spark. Her father use to take her and her sister up onto a hill top close to her home to see the northern lights. It was only when she got older that realized what her father was showing them was the electric lights in the town of Boyle. It’s a Blackstone engine  and helped generate electricity for Boyle until 1965 with DC power. After our chat I did offer to take her a spin around the town on the bike, with a wink of her eye and telling me if she was ten years younger we parted with a laugh and a smile on my face. A wonderful women.

My next trip out was to County Mayo over on the west coast, this time to a remote, or  has we would say ” in the asshole of nowhere” to find a disused footbridge. The ride out to it was all single track roads, passing  a remote house out here you wonder what it must be like in winter since its flat scrub land and the wind was racing across it. When I got to the bridge the road ends and a private lane continues up to a farm about a half mile away. The river it crosses has brown water due to it running through the peat bog’s, and here’s a tip don’t drink the water.

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It turned out to be a long day in the saddle and the rain held off for most of the day.

My next ride out was up to the northern part of County Donegal, Glenveagh National Park area. The day was great with blue sky’s from early morning it promised to be a warm day. Going direct from home to the rally point was around 3.5 hours but I’m not known for going the direct route. The plan was to travel through Counties Monaghan, Cavan, Fermanagh and into Donegal. Up the shore of lower Lough Erne in Country Fermanagh to Kesh.

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This was taken from a view point just outside Kesh town in County Fermanagh, this is looking north up Lower lough Erne.

Then onto the small town of Pettigo which is in part of Northern Ireland (UK) and part in Donegal (ROI). Through Donegal town and a drive up the centre of the county to Church hill. Then follow the R251 (road)around the north of Glenveagh National Park and down to lough Dunlewy.

 

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This is looking down from the road on the side of Mount Errigal, Donegals highest mountain. The lough in Lough Dunlewy and the area with the church ruins in the bottom left is the Poisoned Glen. The history of the glen is linked with the photo rally point which is just out of shot in the top right of this photo. Here’s a link to the Poisoned Glen.

The church ruins in the Poisoned Glen was a photo rally point a few years back.

Next the Rally Point, this is number 1 on the map. It’s called Lugh Lambfada and another link. Lugh

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Not a great time of day for photography with high contrast but sometimes you have to make do. This is Lugh and here is the pilot of the bike to give scale to the sculpture

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Complete with body armour in case I had to fight him. I done another rally point in Northern Ireland on the return trip but well leave that from another post

Thank you all for visiting and be safe wherever you are.

Photo Rally 2017

Welcome back to another update on doing the 2017  Irish photo rally . More info about it and a map with the photo rally points is here. This one is number 21 on the map and is in County Sligo and is called  The Scenically Set Ruin in Gleniff. I was lucky to get these photo’s has the rain was just starting and with in a few minutes it was a very wet ride home. Here is the photo of the point 21.

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Yes the bike must be in there, part of the rules.. And now the scenic part, this next shot was taken from the other side of the bike.

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At this point the rain was starting to fall, so camera away and followed the wet road through Gleniff.

Thank you for visiting and for your comments and likes.

 

Photo rally

Another three of rally points done, but only got a couple of photos edited. The first is here in County Monaghan. This stands in the most northerly parish of Co. Monaghan: Errigal Truagh. Behind the old school house stands  the ruins of an ancient church, where many beautifully carved old headstones of McKenna interest remain a major tourist attraction. Which I hope to follow up with some photos later.

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Next its over to County Leitrim, to the birth place of  Margaret of New Orleans. Will include a link here about this amazing woman. It surprises me sometimes the history and stories behind some of the photo rally points. Please have a read about this woman, Margaret of New Orleans. And here is her restored home in Ireland.

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The motorcycle you see in the photos is a BMW R1200gs and is my transport around Ireland for work and pleasure.

Thank you for visiting and have a great weekend.

Irish Photo rally 2017

Started doing the first photo points on the IPR this year. There’s a link here  which shows the map and rally points. You can do them in any order and have a few months to complete them. My first was number 8 on the map.

 

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Moylough Castle or Church

Then traveling south it was number 7 next, Ballinahowen Tree Sculptures

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There are a few of these tree sculptures here so will do a post about these soon.

Still heading south to the next one number 13 on the map it was another tree sculpture in Banagher. It is called The  Musician (J McEvoy) link

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Heres a link with Johnny McEvoy singing The Ballad of Jack Reilly.

Then it was over to the town of Tullamore to see a friend and enjoy a coffee. Back on the road home in the evening sun with just short of two hundred miles covered, the buzz of riding is still there even after forty years of motorcycling.

Thank you for visiting

 

 

Irish Photo Rally 2016

For a number of years I and many others do the Irish Photo Rally. Motorcyclist from all over Ireland and further afield travel around Ireland photographing their motorcycles at the given locations. So with it being a lovely spring afternoon I thought I would make a start on this years rally. With the bike ready and camera loaded off I went to Ballydugan Mill. Ballydugan Mill

This is number 4 on the rally map but there is no order in which they have to be completed. So arriving early evening and the sun still shining this is my photo for this entry. photo rally link

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So with my first photo in the bag I decided to travel a few more mile around the County Down coast. My next stop was at the lighthouse on Saint John’s Point. This was a photo rally point a few years ago.

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The view across the sea to the Mourne Mountains is beautiful from the shore on the other side of the lighthouse. Back on the single track road and I stopped for another photo across the bay.

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With the rays of sunshine breaking through the clouds and mountains has a backdrop had to get a shot here. There is a sandy beach a mile along the road that’s popular with families young and old. My next stop was the fishing port of Ardglass where a cup of coffee had my name on it. Sat in the evening sun and and watched the gulls put on a flying display over the harbour. No photos here, this village needs a day spent here for there is so much to see.  Coffee and it’s off I go again this time heading for the town of Strangford. Here the ferry runs across the lough to Portaferry on the Ards  peninsula. Strangford

With the last of the evening sun I stopped off at Kilclief Castle  Kilclief Castle

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With the sun dropping and the temperature going the same way it way time to head home. With just over  a hours ride home its was dark and cold.  Time for a hot shower, a coffee and a look over my photographs before hitting the sack.(bed) It was a grand afternoon out, time to plan my next one.

Will be bring you a few more views from around Ireland over the next few months has my journey around the rally map continues.

Thank you for visiting