Search Results for 'Clare coast'

The 37th Cruinniu na mBad , “Gathering of the Boats” will take place in Kinvara on the weekend of August 14, 15, and 16. This unique Galway Hooker and wooden boat festival has been held each year since 1979, the brainchild of local man Tony Moylan, who passed away in June of this year. 

One of the most interesting hotels in Ireland is the Falls Hotel, Ennistymon, Co Clare. Apart from its spectacular setting overlooking the River Inagh as it cascades over wide ledges almost immediately outside its door, this distinctive building conceals within its walls an 18th century mansion, and a late medieval castle. It was the home of the one-time wealthy Macnamaras, landlords of vast Clare territories. The last of the clan to hold any real status was Henry Valentine Macnamara (known as Henry Vee), the High Sheriff of Co Clare, and a character to be reckoned with. One December morning in 1919, Henry Vee and friends (who included a British army officer and a Lady Beatrice O’Brien), set out in a convoy of cars for a woodcock shoot in the Burren.

Our image today is of a painting entitled Morning – Landing Fish at Blackrock, Galway Bay by an English painter named Thomas Rose Miles dated c1895. There is probably a little artistic licence taken but it is a fascinating study of the bay which is very difficult to capture in paint. There is just a thin strip of land visible on the far side, nothing very dramatic, and of course the light and colours change constantly. The sunlit area we see on the Clare coast corresponds to Ballyvaughan and the landmass to the west of that has been darkened for artistic effect. Though they are probably not visible in this reproduction, there are a lot of fishing boats on the bay.

Many areas in County Galway had poor or no roads until well into the 20th century. For coastal areas this meant that trade and travel was mostly done by sea.

When Christy Moore sings his well known song, “Viva la Quinta Brigada”, in honour of those who fought against Franco in the Spanish Civil War one of his sardonic verses includes the lines: