More Irish Scenes

In this set of pix I've included some surreal natural scenes; some historic shots; modern pix; and some others. Ireland is really a diverse place with an abundance of natural beauty, historic sites, and modern energy, sometimes whimsical and fun loving. This is another basalt shot at Giants Causeway in Ulster. In the western US there is a lot of columnar basalt, but you usually see it in full column form, from below. Here you walk on the top of the columns...a different perspective.

A good shot of the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge...yes, I did go across.

Guinness is good for you! I had about a pint a day whilst in Ireland, and I actually did have a bit more spring in my step!

One of the old city gates through the walls into Derry. The walls are almost 400 years old.

And, just a couple blocks away, a shining new pedestrian bridge is being built over the River Foyle. It's very similar in design to the Sundial Bridge in Redding...probably built by the same architect.

Roaring Meg, still sitting on the Derry walls after over 300 years. Though the civil strife of the Troubles has been pretty much over for at least 20 years, for some reason Roaring Meg is pointed right at...Bogside, site of Bloody Sunday at the height of the Troubles in 1972. Is this a coincidence??

Roaring Meg was cast in 1642, as the inscription shows. It was shipped from London to Derry for civil defense, and was used seriously in the 1689 siege.

The grave of William Butler Yeats, one of Ireland's foremost poets and playwrights in the early 20th century. It's just north of Sligo town; he loved the county and spent much of his life here.

Salthill, a seaside suburb of Galway. Ominous clouds in the background.

Towering cumulus loom above Galway cathedral. This cathedral is perhaps most notable for NOT being centuries old...in fact, it was built in the middle of the 20th century, completed only in 1965!