Robert's Ramblings

There's a hidden spot on the western side of Doulus Head, County Kerry, that you could easily sail or motor past without a second glance. Like much of this rugged coastline, the jagged cliffs and seawalls don't exactly invite closer inspection - getting too near could mean being dashed to pieces on the rocks.

So it was with a mix of surprise and apprehension that I found us heading straight toward a fissure in the rock, into shadow and then darkness. Darkness, that is, until our eyes adjusted to these unexpected surroundings.

A little way in, the rocky ceiling rose dramatically, expanding into a high, vaulted roof. We had entered the inner sanctum of what locals call 'The Cathedral.'


#Ireland #doulushead #boating #scuba #diving #InbhearSceineKerrySubAquaClub #caves #seacaves #thecathedral #kerry

A visit to an old church always demands reverences but here in Youghal, St. Mary's Collegiate Church held a deep magic that almost brought us to tears.

At over 800 years old, the care with which it has been maintained tells everything about its importance as a place of worship, ceremony and social cohesion for the people of Youghal and its surrounds.

We lingered here for a few hours trying to get a sense of all that had taken place here. As the expression goes, ‘if only these walls could talk’.


#Youghal #StMarysCollegiateChurch #churches #architecture #ireland #travel #cork #sacred #churchofireland

It’s not often that such an opportunity to admire a backside as beautiful as this presents itself out on the streets, Kilkenny or otherwise.

The purists would say that if it has no cylinders then it’s not worth their time but I disagree, sometimes I am happy to judge a book by its cover, or its backside.


#Ireland #bmw #kilkenny #i8 #coupe #automobile #bmwi8 #car #eyecandy

Credit to the Dubliners for the title but this jar of whiskey is in the cellars of Midleton, county Cork
And just to confuse you even more, it’s a jar of Redbreast!

The story of whiskey in Ireland is fascinating, and Midleton’s story even more, so I invite you to research Ireland’s Uisce beatha (water of life) in any responsible way you see fit.

As for me, ...

Musha-ring dumma-do-damma-da
Whack for the daddy-o
Whack for the daddy-o
There's whiskey in the jar


#Ireland #midleton #whiskey #readbreats #cellar #cork #whiskeyinthejar #dubliners

Diving off the Kerry coast I am starting to become familiar with ‘the locals’, or as we would have said back in South Australia, ‘the usual suspects’.

The lesser spotted dogfish is now on my local list of ‘usual suspects’ and is always a welcome sight on any of my dives, ‘dog day’ or otherwise.


#lesserspotteddogfish #dogfish #scyliorhinuscaniculus #ireland #scuba #diving #underwaterphotography #fish #portrait #wildlife #kerry

One of Ireland’s most impressive sites of medieval architecture, The Rock of Cashel was once the seat of the kings of Munster.

One of most visited tourist attractions in Ireland, ‘The Rock’ was deserted this grey evening until a rent in the western sky let the sun stream in for our own personal experience.


#travel #therockofcashel #cashel #castle #sunset #silhouette #landscape #ireland #medieval #aerial

200m from the finish line of the 2024 Rás na mBan, Ireland’s premier women’s stage race, it could be anyone over the line first.

Here out in front is Netherland’s Noor Dekker. Hot on her heels is Great Britain’s Lucy Lee with Canadian, Anabelle Thomas on both their tails.

Three’s a crowd, and their can only be one winner. That final uphill 200m, to the finish outside Kilkenny Castle, was the crux of this race with Lucy Lee taking line honours.

Being here in Kilkenny for the final stage of the of the 2024 Rás na mBan was an unexpected surprise after coming here just to see an old castle.


#sports #cycling #womenscycling #RásnamBan #NoorDekker #LucyLee #AnabelleThomas #roadcycling #racing #ireland #kilkenny #action

Just under two kilometres north east of Skellig Michael is its smaller sibling, ‘Little Skellig’ or ‘Sceilig Bheag’ in the native Irish tongue.

I first laid eyes on Sceilig Bheag seven years ago and was introduced to the home of one of the northern hemispheres largest colonies of gannet, along with its incredible accompanying smell. There were six of us that day, my wife and four of our closest Australian friends. This time I was with a group of strangers who would later become good friends.

Not more than an hour after capturing this image, I got the chance to scuba dive below Sceilig Bheag’s mysterious waterline and glimpse just a little of what she hides from the rest of the world.

From this day I become hooked on Kerry diving.


#adventure #birds #crag #freedom #gannets #ireland #island #kerry #littleskellig #ocean #portmagee #seabirds #solitude #theskelligs #travel #aerial #seascape #landscape

Over the last 6 months I have come to know the County Kerry town of Cahersiveen quite well.

As this is the home port of the Inbhear Sceine Kerry Sub Aqua Club, we have departed from here for many amazing diving adventures off the amazing South West coast of Ireland.

On top of the incredible diving, we have stayed here, we have visited the cafes, restaurants, and pubs here, and we have made friends here.

Even if you have no intentions of getting wet, Cahersiveen is a wonderful base to explore the South West of Ireland. If you are a scuba diver, the Inbhear Sceine can show you some of the very best diving to be found in all of Ireland.


#abstract #aerial #ireland #kerry #Cahersiveen #tinyplanet #wildatlanticway #skelligcoast

Of my many different diving experiences here in Ireland, the most profound would have to be depth. My previous South Australian dives averaged 15 meters, now off the coast of Kerry, it’s more like 35.

With these depths come the loss of light, the loss of colour and the urgency of time. Below 30m, especially with turbid upper layers, the gloom becomes palpable, mysterious, teasing and inviting.

At 40 meters, and with lights, it is like night diving where the torchlight brings the underwater world to life in a video roll of incident light. There is security in that little bit of light but if you are game to turn off all lights, to hang out over deep water away from structures, and to let night vision do its thing, something magic happens.

I find it difficult to put into words that feeling of floating in a void of shadows and shapes. I seem to be aware of the bottom below and the structures around me but they have no substance, no threat, they are simply ‘there’. When the torchlight of another diver penetrates that void, the sharp relief of substance is both jarring and beautiful at the same time.

It’s been a long time since I really got to ‘feel’, diving. The magic of the gloom has brought that feeling back.


#Scuba #diving #kerry #ireland #deep #gloom #portmagee #InbhearSceineKerrySubAquaClub

No I am not about to stop diving with these guys, far from it, I plan on many, many more dives to come. I am imagining however that these may have been the words my camera might have uttered as it captured its last image.

Here we are on the east side of Puffin Island, Co Kerry and just about to descend on what would be my first camera-less dive in years. Yes, my camera started the dive, but never made it past a few meters before a catastrophic flood sent it off on and entirely different trip.

After 15 years of faithful service it was time to say goodbye to and old dear friend.


#Scuba #diving #inbhearsceinekerrysubaqua #ireland #kerry #boating #rib

We were diving very deep to avoid the surge above but even here below 30m we were tossed back and forth making photography tricky.

While capturing this edible sea urchin I waited for the leaf like red algae to be pushed down flat by the surge. It never was, I think it had gotten impaled on the urchin's spines.


#critters #diving #echinoderms #Echinusesculentus #edibleseaurchin #ireland #kerry #scuba #seaurchin #underwater #InbhearSceineSubAqua

I’d never really done much RIB (rigid-hull inflatable boat) based diving before coming to Ireland.

Back in South Australia, not including an inflatable hull boat I owned in my twenties, I could count my time diving from RIBs on one hand. Almost all of my boat diving was from off-shore equipped rigid fiberglass or aluminium boats.

Here diving in Ireland now for the last 4 months, the only diving I have been doing if from RIBs with guys and gals of Inbhear Sceine Kerry Sub Aqua club.

There once was a time when a nice dry cabin had its appeal but for its size nothing beats the seaworthiness of a RIB powering through moderate seas, its stability at rest and the ease of getting in and out. Try getting back up the ladder of an anchored rigid boat in big seas and you risk being smashed by the heaving transom, ladder or outboard. A RIB on the other hand is a delight in the same conditions where you can simply pull yourself up and over the buoyancy tubes and back into the boat.

Now that I’ve had a taste for rubber over glass there just might be a RIB somewhere in my diving future here or back in South Australia.


#inbhearSceine #kerrysubaaquacclub #rib #scuba #diving #kerry #skelligmichael #portmagee

What a strange sight among the graves of Cill Mhic Dhuach, a man in a hazmat suit power cleaning a tombstone with the precision of a dental hygienist.

Perhaps the cleaning is required as part of some study where researchers need unrestricted access to the stone surface. Perhaps it is part of some tourist beautification program. Or perhaps a family is paying respect by up keeping the grave of an ancestor.

Ultimately, lichens and their associated bio-communities will be the ultimate protectors of the stones and the stories they hold. I hope that to protect the past, the graveyard shift ultimately becomes a thing of the past.


#CillMhicDhuac #Kilmacduagh #countyclare #ireland #travel #journalism #blackandwhite

You could be forgiven for being confused by such an exotically named plant presenting itself so devilishly. The true beauty of this intriguing Nigella damascena is yet to emerge.

Very soon those green veined leaves will fold back, turn blue, and reveal themselves as the petals of a dramatic and exotic flower. The common name, love-in-a-mist, comes from the effect in full bloom of beautiful blue petals floating in a filigree mist of fine green.

This time of year the Burren, in Co Clare, Ireland, is awash with colour as wildflower adorn the ditches and rocky landscape in all directions. It is a very special place that rewards stillness with a great sense of belonging to the land.

The Burren is a place I recommend visiting and spending time in. You may or may not find something very special here but at least the wildflowers will not disappoint.


#Loveinamist #nigelladamascena #nigella #ireland #wildflowers #burren #flowers #burrennationalpark

Another beautiful jellyfish, the crystal jelly (Aequorea victoria), is normally almost perfectly clear but when disturbed it illuminates its outer bell in a blue-green glow using tiny light producing organs.

The light producing substance harvested from these guys is aequorin, a calcium-activated photoprotein used in medical research. The crystal jelly is also the very same creature who’s genes have been inserted into mice to make them glow green as their genetically modified bodies produce their own aequorin.

As the water here off the coast of Kerry is still getting warmer I’m looking forward to these guys being around for a few more months yet.


#crystaljelly #aequoreavictoria #jellyfish #ireland #scuba #diving #kerry #wildatlanticway #aequorin

Ireland’s Burren National Park, or simply ‘The Burren’ is unlike anything you would have imaged to be Irish landscape.

It is said that Oliver Cromwell, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland circa 1650, when he first saw the Burren, said, “There isn’t a tree to hang a man, water to drown a man, nor soil to bury a man.”

Despite it’s stark almost sterile aspect from afar, up close the Burren is an oasis of life, abundant in flora, fauna and ancient human history. When we visited here a couple weeks ago it was awash with colour as wildflowers bloomed from every conceivable nook, crack and cranny.

This is a place to find solitude and feel the juxtaposition of wide open barren rock landscape with the rich colour of living things.

I first came here over twenty years ago and will always be back for more.


#Ireland #landscape #countyclare #burren #burrennationalpark #tinyplanet

Just for a moment I felt like I was back in the familiar waters of South Australia where our magnificent southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) is often found in caves and under deep ledges. However, in all my years of diving Southern Australian waters I have never seen our timid crayfish out in the open during the day.

Here below the imposing Skellig Michael, and unlike its distant Australian relative, the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas) seems absolutely at home out in the open. During our dive we found several crayfish perched on open drop-off walls or foraging under the kelp.

It was amazing observing these beautiful creatures out and about rather than having to peer in caves and under ledges. Unfortunately the same does not apply to lobster which do their best to stay out of sight.

I can only surmise that for the spiny lobster, here off the south west coast of Ireland, a lack of predators has lead to their boldness making them so photogenic.


#crayfish #spinylobster #europeanspinylobster #palinuruselephas #scuba #diving #skelligmichael #critters #underwater

Every time time a meet an Irish lobster on a dive I am reminded of our Australian common yabby and childhood memories of catching them in creeks and dams.

How different the wild Irish coast is from muddy Australian farm dams and yet how similar these two creatures are in appearance.

Given the choice of diving with Irish lobster off the Irish coast or a muddy Australian farm dam I think I’ve made the right choice.


#irishlobster #homarusgammarus #lobster #kerry #scuba #diving #kerrysac #coonanna

Despite it’s name, the Compass Jellyfish has minimal control over the direction it travels or the places it finds itself.

Relative to still water they are efficient swimmers but no match for the current, tides, storms and seas of the Wild Atlantic Way coast.

These three once beautiful oceanic creatures have found a final place of rest on a pebbly beach of the Flaggy Shore, County Clare.


#newquay #ireland #clare #flaggyshore #beachcombing #beach #wildatlanticway #chrysaorahysoscella #jellyfish #compassjellyfish #pebbles #countyclare

This exquisite creature is mysterious, captivating and enchanting as it moves through the ocean with a grace all its own.

This time of the year in the waters off Ireland they are everywhere and make incredible subjects of photography or observation while waiting to off-gas on our safety stop. They are also everywhere on beaches, washed ashore, where their distinctive compass pattern can be seen draped over rock, shingle and sand.

For me the ‘jellies’ are also synonymous with the warmer (relative) water of Ireland’s Summer.

Expect a few more jellies before summer is over.


#Coonanna #ireland #kerry #scuba #diving #boating #wildatlanticway #chrysaorahysoscella, #jellyfish #compassjellyfish

On yet another perfect dive day you can see our tiny dive boat tucked in behind Bray Head. You could dive just this few hundred metres of coastline all year and never experience the same dive twice.

What a privilege it is to be diving week in and week out at locations like this.


#Brayhead #portmagee #ireland #diving #boating #aerial #wildatlanticway #valentiaisland

#map0GsPNBG3JVNZmIMkuHzB

The last thing I expected on the 12th hole was a pheasant cock strutting his stuff. I have now learned that pheasants have had uninterrupted residency here on the Cork Golf Club grounds for years.

Not actually being here to play I was easily distracted by shiny things and bright colours, especially when my team were waiting their turn.

So, cock sure and strutting his stuff, and with no fear of humans bearing strange clubs, this beautifully coloured bird captured my attention for little while. At least until the play moved on.


#Pheasant #corkgolfclub #birds #animals #golf #green #cock #cork #ireland

As we strolled down Main Street, Ennistymon, the diversity of vehicles passing through town unmistakably trended to agricultural equipment.

By about the third tractor and yet another indescribable piece of towed plant, I thought this image would capture the feel of Main Street, Ennistymon.


#ireland #ennistymon #clare #tractors #agriculture #rurallife #mainstreet

These two beautiful gannets flying overhead, alongside the famous Bull Rock, showcase their reputation of Ireland’s most majestic seabird.

Watching gannets feeding is amazing. After a period of circling, a gannet will hover about 6m above the water and then suddenly drop into a vertical plummet, diving into the sea. What is especially spectacular is when a group of them all hit the water at the same time.

Having gannets fly above us was not so amazing. After a short while our boat had scored several hits of a different kind and I noticed at least one direct strike on Johns shoulder.

Majestic they may be but it was now a good thing that we were all about to get into the water.


#adventure #birds #freedom #gannets #gainead #morusbassana #ireland #kerry #bullrock #ocean #bunavalla #bealtra #seabirds

An interesting part of every deep dive is that shallow last third where physics and biology enforce coming up to a shallow depth to avoid decompression issues. Here the freedom of exploring the depths is taken from us and safely of the shallows presents new and interesting things to explore and see.

Here among the swaying kelp I found this small garden of plumrose anenome (Metridium senile). In a strange way it was easy to imagine these as a head of cauliflower wrapped in the green leaves of kelp. I’m sure there must be a good a recipe for ocean cauliflower soup, and somewhere it is probably a delicacy.

I’ll stick with cauliflower from the garden for now but happy to see more of these beautiful anemones on future dives.


#anemone #scuba #diving #ireland #portmagee #kelp #garden #cauliflower #plumroseanenome # metridiumsenile

This tiny little village on this tiny little planet is Portmagee and is located in the very south western corner of the Ireland.

We stumbled upon on Portmagee seven years ago when touring Ireland with friends. We enjoyed its beauty and remoteness, but never imaged coming back to this very same place considering all the other beautiful places we have yet to visit.

… little did we know!

In the last three months I’ve been to Portmagee many times now. Some day trips and some weekend stays and it’s all thanks to my getting serious about scuba diving again.

Thanks to the Inbhear Sceine Kerry Sub Aqua Club, Portmagee could become my third home.


#ireland #portmagee #kerry #tinyplanet #aerial #abstract

Unlike some stone cast into a still pond, these ripples in the cafe window were frozen in time from the moment of their creation.

Perhaps they wanted to subdue the view of the street. Perhaps they wanted privacy for their clientele. Perhaps they were just being arty. Regardless, this was our rippled view out to the world.

Sitting here with Jennifer we debated cleaning the window for a better image. Pragmatism was the outcome this time, that rippled view remained just as it was, and we went back to enjoying our coffee.


#abstract #window #patterns #ripples #ennistymon #oohlalacreperie

For almost ten years my wife has been patiently waiting to have ‘Grace Notes’, the creative part of her PhD thesis, published. Without compromise there was only one publisher acceptable to her: Salmon Poetry, based in Ennistymon, in the west of Ireland.

When she first cast her line we were living in Australia. It was a particularly long cast to be sure, but this was a fish she was determined to catch by hook or by crook. It took a few years but eventually she got ‘the rise’ she’d been angling for, the salmon took the lure, and the long play to where we are now began.

Nearly ten years on and we are living in Ireland, have entered the hallowed abode, and Jessie Lendennie will publish Jennifer’s work later this year.

They say that nothing teaches patience like fishing, especially when fishing for salmon.

#irish #literature #salmonpoetry #salmonbookshop #ennistymon #books #poetry #JessieLendennie

This view above Lamb Island tells almost everything you need to know about the conditions, …almost everything.

Wall to wall blue sky, check. No swell or current, check. The iconic Skellig Islands clear on the horizon, check. Incredible coastal rock formations above water, check. Fun dive crew on cool RIB, check. A hint of the crystal clear water as Lamb Island descends down 30m below the warter-line, almost check!

See my previous image ‘Below Lamb Island’ to complete the picture and you can see that we had the perfect Irish diving day.


#boating #diving #kerry #ireland #lambisland #portmagee #aerial #seascape