Ireland XIII - Rock of Dunamase to Dunguaire Castle, Ireland)

Digital original, 2 frame shutter speed blend

The Rock of Dunamase is home to the ruins of Dunamase Castle, a defensive stronghold dating from the early Anglo-Norman period with a view across to the Slieve Bloom Mountains.

Digital original, 2 frame stitch

The morning I spent at the Rock of Dunamase was a real pleasure; the light was lovely and soft, and the sky was quick moving, which made it perfect for making images with a really long exposure (15 seconds in this case)

Digital original

Clonmacnoise was founded in 546 by Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon. Until the 9th century it had close associations with the kings of Connacht. The strategic location of the monastery helped it become a major centre of religion, learning, craftsmanship, and trade by the 9th century and together with Clonard it was the most famous in Ireland, visited by scholars from all over Europe. From the ninth until the eleventh century it was allied with the kings of Meath. Many of the high kings of Tara and Connacht were buried here.

Digital Original

Clonmacnoise has two towers; the one closer to the main buildings is striking, but lacks the stone cap, where the above tower, on the outter wall of the site, was complete with conical cap.

Digital original, 7 frame exposure blend, 3 frame stitch

Dunguaire Castle is a 16th-century tower house on the southeastern shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland, near Kinvarra. The name derives from the Dun of King Guaire, the legendary king of Connacht.