The Sony A7RII does not perform well in low light and the sky had an unusual purple colour which was reflected by the water.
Claddagh is an area close to the centre of Galway city, where the River Corrib meets Galway Bay. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the Spanish Arch, which was the location of regular fish markets where the locals supplied the city with seafood as recently as the end of the 19th century. People have been gathering seafood and fishing from the area for millennia. It is one of the oldest former fishing villages in Ireland – its existence having been recorded since the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century.
During the 19th century the Claddagh attracted many visitors, including writers who spread its fame. The original village of thatched cottages was razed in the 1930s and replaced by a council-housing scheme.
The Claddagh is most famous internationally for the Claddagh ring, which is popular among those of Irish heritage as both a friendship and wedding ring. This traditional design consists of two clasped hands holding a crowned heart, and symbolises love, friendship and loyalty.
The Claddagh area contains a national school, Community Centre and a Catholic Church as well as the new Claddagh Arts Centre.
Notable natives of the area include Thomas Grady, recipient of the Victoria Cross.
ST. MARTIN DE PORRES SCULPTURE BY JAMES McKENNA – CHURCH ON CLADDAGH QUAY IN GALWAY
The first time that I tried to photograph this statue back in 2015 a lady in a large black SUV insisted on parking in such a manner as to block my view of this statue and she was very rude. I had to wait until my 2017 visit to get this photograph [in 2016 I forgot to photograph it].
Naomh Máirtín de Porres. The patron saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony.
Irish Sculptor, JAMES McKENNA (1933 – 2000)
This statue caught me by surprise as I had originally believed it to be a “Mother And Child” statue however it is a granite sculpture showing St. Martin de Porres in the act of pouring soup into a bowl for a hungry child while laying a comforting hand on the youngster’s head.
Martin de Porres Velázquez, O.P. (December 9, 1579 – November 3, 1639), was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony.
He was noted for his work on behalf of the poor, establishing an orphanage and a children’s hospital. He maintained an austere lifestyle, which included fasting and abstaining from meat. Among the many miracles attributed to him were those of levitation, bilocation, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and an ability to communicate with animals.
St. Mary’s Dominican church was designed by William Hague. With its rock-faced granite walls and finely detailed round-headed arches, this handsome church has often been described as being of Norman style. Features such as a carved tympanum and moulded surrounds at the front entrance as well as fine windows enliven the composition. This structure is a good example of the return of the Romanesque style linked with the Celtic Revival-style church architecture of the late nineteenth century. The well-preserved and decorated interior with its richly ornamented reredos, altar and font is especially worthy of note.
The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, commonly known as Galway Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in Galway, and one of the largest and most impressive buildings in the city.
Construction began in 1958 on the site of the old city prison. It was completed in 1965, making it the last great stone cathedral to be built in Europe. It was dedicated, jointly, to Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and to St. Nicholas.
The architect of the cathedral was John J. Robinson who had previously designed many churches in Dublin and around the country. The architecture of the cathedral draws on many influences. The dome and pillars reflect a Renaissance style. Other features, including the rose windows and mosaics, echo the broad tradition of Christian art. The cathedral dome, at a height of 44.2 metres (145 ft), is a prominent landmark on the city skyline.
During a controversial interview on Telefís Éireann’s The Late Late Show in 1966, Trinity College Dublin student Brian Trevaskis referred to the building as a “ghastly monstrosity”. He also accused the then Bishop of Galway Michael Browne of “extortion” over the manner in which funds for the new cathedral were raised and implied that the Bishop was a “moron”. More recently, it was described in an Irish Times article concerning “ugly” Irish buildings as a “squatting Frankenstein’s monster” and “a monument to the hubris of its soft-handed sponsors”.
The University opened for teaching in 1849 as “Queen’s College Galway” with 68 students. A year later it became part of the Queen’s University of Ireland. The Irish Universities Act, 1908 made this college a constituent college of the new National University of Ireland, and under a new charter the name of the University changed to “University College Galway”. It was given special statutory responsibility under the University College Galway Act, 1929 with respect of the use of the Irish language as a working language of the University. It retained the title of University College Galway until the Universities Act, 1997 changed it to the “National University of Ireland, Galway”.
Located close to the city centre, it stretches along the River Corrib. The oldest part of the University, the Quadrangle with its Aula Maxima was designed by John Benjamin Keane; it is a replica of Christ Church, one of the colleges at the University of Oxford. The stone from which it is built was supplied locally
More modern parts of the university sprang up in the 1970s and were designed by architects Scott Tallon Walker. The 1990s also saw considerable development, including the conversion of an old munitions factory into a student centre. Under the early 21st-century Presidency of Iognáid G. Ó Muircheartaigh, NUI Galway announced details of plans to make the University a “campus of the future” at a cost of around €400 million. Ó Muircheartaigh’s successor James J. Browne continued with that plan.
I photographed this old church back in September 2017 but, much to my annoyance, until today I was unable to identify the building as I could not determine its location [not having GPS can present problems].
I did ask a friend from Galway if she knew this church and she incorrectly identified it as the Jesuits Church on Sea Road which is close by. However having accepted it was on Sea Road I used Google Maps to examine every building on the road and eventually found it but still no details. I eventually found some old advertisements for a concert or play in a hall on Sea Road.
Flanked by terraces of houses, this High-Victorian former Congregational church is a striking landmark in the streetscape. The unusual carved finial, the decorative polychrome surrounds to the window openings, the rose window and the elaborate porch all serve to enliven the structure and display the architectural and decorative breadth of the designers and builder
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