She said "You have weird hobbies" and I stopped and thought for a moment. Yes, I suppose I do have quite strange hobbies and interests. Much of my time in Ireland has been spent climbing over fences into abandoned buildings and exploring and taking photos and imagining times gone by. Everywhere I have travelled I have spent time in cemeteries, reading the grave stones, conjuring up pictures of those who have left us in my head. Imagining the families left behind. I find it fascinating to be given a name and a date and then you can just let your imagination do the rest. It's the same with abandoned, falling down, dilapidated buildings - you get this little insight into what once was, and you can almost see it in its glory days. And then you see it fast forward over time to what it is now.. deteriorated, left, abandoned, disused, not needed anymore. What happened? Why was it left? What stories come from inside? Who worked there?
I love travelling alone, to funny little places, falling down areas, farmland, old industrial towns.. There's always things to look at. You don't have to deal with hundreds of tourists; it is cheap as chips (especially if you're couch surfing) and there's so much time and space - no queues, no tickets for entry. Not many restrictions at all. Perhaps it is a tad selfish, wanting to travel this way, but I guess at the same time as giving me a huge amount of freedom, it also tests my capability as a solo traveller, and also as a person. It is funny - I have times where I crave solitude, but also times where I want nothing more than to be with people, interacting, engaging, conversing.. I guess travelling alone actually does, in a funny way, make you need to speak to strangers more, whether it be asking for directions or hitching or finding a place to stay, through couch surfing or other ways.. It pushes you into interacting with strangers out of necessity, rather than being isolated in your travelling group. And I like that. It gives you the opportunity to make quite solid connections quite quickly and then you move on. You might keep in contact, you might not. But from my experience, the memories are fond ones and will stick with me for years to come.
The first portrait below is of a lovely Irishman named Micheál. I wandered into his second hand book shop in Ballinasloe.. The first thing he did was offer me a cup of tea, which I gladly accepted. He reminded me a bit of Billy Connolly with his big moustache and long grey hair and his animated way of speaking - with such enthusiasm! I have to say, there was a bit of confusion on my part for a significant portion of our 2 hour long conversation! I struggled with the accent a bit. He spoke very quickly - but I had no trouble understanding him when he referred to the "feckin bastards!" He told me all about his travels to Australia and about friends who had come back to visit him. He told me about his Irish heritage and things he used to do as a child ("ooh how the times have changed.."). He told me about his boat and about his grown up children, with such pride. He let me take his photo and gave me his business card. And when I went to purchase the book I'd been looking at he just said, "have it, it's been grand chattin' to ya!" We shook hands and parted ways. But it wouldn't surprise me if we ran into each other again somewhere along the way...
portraits || clara / ballinasloe / dublin
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Micheál, The Oat Gallery, Ballinasloe
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| Woman, Dublin |
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| Street Performer, Dublin Performing songs by Edith Piaf |
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| Busker, Dublin |
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| Self Portrait, Ballinasloe |
inchmore house, clara || abandoned stately home
wanderings || clara & ballinasloe
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| Abandoned Mill, Clara |
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| St Brigid's Hospital "Lunatic Asylum" |
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| Abandoned Warehouse, Ballinasloe |
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| Abandoned Warehouse, Ballinasloe |
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| House, Ballinasloe |
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| St Brigid's Hospital, Ballinasloe "Lunatic Asylum" |
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| Opposite St Brigid's Hospital, Ballinasloe |
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| St Brigid's Hospital, Ballinasloe |
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| Derelict Building, Clara |
In the dark of the morning, before the sun had risen, I was on a train back to Dublin from Clara.
Mist is rising over the frosty fields. The sky is just becoming light with tones of orange and purple - a beautiful backdrop for the silhouettes of cows and trees and barbed wire fences. We are plunged into darkness when trees line the tracks and then emerge back out into the light as the foliage peters out. Part of me wants to get my camera out. But the photos wouldn't do it justice. I think I will just have to enjoy it.
And once the sun was up, I did get my camera out!
Thanks for reading!
