Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Rossbeigh Strand is on the north shore of the Ring of Kerry and is a place much beloved of anyone who has ever spent time there.
Photographed here on a winter's evening, the snow covered summit of Brandon Mountain on the Dingle peninsula is visible on the horizon while the stars wheel through the sky overhead.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
An Searrach (the foal) is a prominent sea stack on the Dingle coastline near Lispole. This image was made in the late afternoon on a fine summer's day. A long exposure was used to blur the movement of waves and clouds.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
The Blasket Islands extend in a chain from the end of the Dingle peninsula in Co. Kerry. Seen here from the pass between Mount Eagle and Cruach Mhartain, the Great Blasket (An Blascaod Mór) snakes across the ocean, with Inishtearaght (An Tiaracht) to its right. Inishvickillane (Inis Mhic Aoibhleáin) is in shadow just to its left.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Skellig Michael is perhaps Ireland's most alluring location. Wild and untamed, it was home to a monastery of ascetic monks from about the 6th to the 13th century.
This image was made from across Christ's Saddle between the two peaks of the island, looking towards the North Peak, which is where the monastery is located.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
This image shows detail of the sound between Valentia and the mainland. The bridge that links the island to Portmagee can be clearly seen. The bridge was built in 1970, and previously a ferry ran from the village. At the eastern end of the island, a ferry still runs, connecting that side with the town of Cahersiveen.
In the distance, the snow-capped peaks of the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, Ireland’s highest mountain range, huddle together beneath a squall.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Geokaun Mountain is the highest point on Valentia Island. In this classic panoramic view looking east, Fort Point and the Valentia lighthouse are visible in the bottom right. Beginish Island and Doulus Head also make an appearance.
I was even able to bribe some sheep to wander into the frame at left for the authentic rural Irish experience!
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
A rarely seen angle on Skellig Michael, looking from the northeast. The monastery is just behind the ridge of the leftmost peak, while the lone hermitage clings to the slopes just under the summit of the right peak.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Photographed just after sunrise, this view from the western end of Skellig Michael shows the two lighthouses very effectively. As shafts of sunlight penetrate the clouds and light up the sea, the abandoned northern lighthouse sits high on its ridge in the centre of the frame. The still-operational southern light is very visible with its white painted walls.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Inis Tuaisceart, or as it's also known, the Sleeping Giant or an Fear Mearbh is blanketed in low cloud as the sun sets behind it, illuminating the sea around it with rich golden light.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Ireland's coast is at its best during stormy weather. Nowhere more so than the tip of the Dingle peninsula.
In this image, the Great Blasket Island is battered by storm force winds and large waves as the sun sinks to the horizon.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Jagged rocks just off the western end of Inis Tiaracht, these rocks mark the westernmost extremity of Ireland. There's nothing between here and the east coast of North America except thousands of miles of open ocean.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Clogher Strand is one of the more spectacular beaches in Ireland and is renowned for its pounding surf in westerly storms. Inis Tuaisceart (An Fear Marbh) is visible through the channel.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
An Tiaracht is an island of many names. Also known as Inishtearaght, The Tearaght and Tearaght Island, all these names mean the same thing - 'The Westerly', or 'Westerly Island'. This is a pretty good description, as not only is it the westernmost of the Blasket Islands, it's also pretty much the westernmost point of Europe, with the exception of the nearby Foze Rocks.
In my opinion, the lighthouse on the island, which was constructed in 1870 and made automatic in 1988, is the most dramatic of any of the lighthouses around the coast. It's also one of the least well known as it's invisible from the mainland - sitting as it does on the western end of the rock.
The island is a pair of jagged, steep-sided pyramids reaching a maximum height of 656 feet above the sea. Joining them is a saddle pierced by a natural tunnel. The light itself is at a height of 275 feet on top of a 55 foot tower.
This image was made during a maintenance flight out to the lighthouse, but due to the stormy conditions we were unable to land. However, it did provide me an opportunity to photograph the island as it was pounded by an angry sea.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
In early March 2013, comet PANSTARRS made its first appearance in the northern hemisphere. On two nights, it appeared in conjunction with the very slender crescent moon. The first night, the clouds didn't cooperate with me, but on the second one I was able to get this image.
The comet can be seen behind the thin band of cloud near the middle of the frame. The crescent moon appears very bright, but the area in shadow is illuminated by Earthshine - the reflected light from the Earth itself. To finish it all off, the lighthouse on Skellig Michael makes an appearance, winking its light at us.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Looking over the Spit from the narrow and precipitous South Peak across to the monastery on Skellig Michael, with the Small Skellig in the distance. The triangular shadow of the peak itself is visible on the water as well.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Being mainly famous for its 6th century monastery, the dramatic island of Skellig Michael also boasts two lighthouses built in 1830. This image was made of the lower lighthouse from the road to the upper (which was discontinued and abandoned in 1870).
Made shortly after moonrise, the image shows the light in its new guise. Just a couple of weeks before this image was made, the old fresnel lantern was decommissioned and a modern LED lantern mounted on the balcony. In a large print, this new light can be seen illuminated. It has great advantages in cost of operation, but unfortunately means that the rest of the lighthouse complex is surplus to requirements and will be closed up. The end of an era, but on this trip I was fortunate enough to enjoy the hospitality of the lighthouse for possibly the last time ever.
This is one of my favourite images of recent times. I love the line of the road leading down to the light, and even more the evidence of nature's relentless assault in the cracked and damaged walls, and the overgrown road itself.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
This part of the Kerry coast is one the keeps drawing me back. For my first book, The Irish Light, it took me ve years to capture the cover image, which was photographed here. This aerial view shows the headland in context with the dramatic Blasket Islands. This is the westernmost part of the mainland of Ireland. The island to the right of the setting sun is Inis Tuasiceart, the Northern Island. It’s also known locally as An Fear Marbh, the Dead Man. Or, less morbidly, the Sleeping Giant.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Rarely seen, the hermitage clings to the narrow South Peak of Skellig Michael with a 700 foot drop on either side. The main monastery can be seen on the North Peak in the middle distance, and the Small Skellig and the Kerry coast lie beyond.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
Being mainly famous for its 6th century monastery, the dramatic island of Skellig Michael also boasts two lighthouses built in 1830. This image was made of the lower lighthouse from the road to the upper (which was discontinued and abandoned in 1870).
Made shortly after moonrise, the image shows the light in its new guise. Just a couple of weeks before this image was made, the old fresnel lantern was decommissioned and a modern LED lantern mounted on the balcony. In a large print, this new light can be seen illuminated. It has great advantages in cost of operation, but unfortunately means that the rest of the lighthouse complex is surplus to requirements and will be closed up. The end of an era, but on this trip I was fortunate enough to enjoy the hospitality of the lighthouse for possibly the last time ever.
This is one of my favourite images of recent times. I love the line of the road leading down to the light, and even more the evidence of nature's relentless assault in the cracked and damaged walls, and the overgrown road itself.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
This was one of the finest sunrises I've ever experienced. The combination of clear skies in the northeast and low cloud and fog on the mountain allowed this dramatic composition including the sun, filtered through layers of mist.
Detailed size information is shown in the preview images as you make selections below.
This view of Skellig from an aircraft overhead reveals the entire island like a map. The eastern side is on the left. The boat landing can be made out as a pale area just above the eastern point, and you can follow the whole path from there to the monastery on the left peak.