On my drive/cycle to work each day I pass through Claregalway and the ruins of Claregalway Friary. On this clear blue sky morning I pulled in, walked downstream to this viewpoint. I’ve taken several photos of Claregalway Friary before but none from this angle; I like how the tree branches frame the friary and it’s a slightly different angle from where I’ve taken photos before.
Yesterday I cycled to work instead of driving. As always I try to bring a camera with me whereever I go so I threw my compact into my rucksack. Everyday I drive past this ruined Friary in Claregalway and think to myself I should try to photograph it in the morning. But normally I’m driving on my way to work so don’t stop.
As the weather was perfect (blue sky, no shadows) and it was easier for me to pull I spent a few minutes and am very happy with the result.
The Claregalway Friary is a medieval Franciscan abbey. Today, the abbey buildings and grounds are open to the public free of charge.
In 1538, forces under the command of Lord Leonard Gray ransacked and looted the abbey while on march to Galway. In 1570, Queen Elizabeth I granted possession of the monastery to Sir Richard de Burgo. In 1589, the monastery buildings were turned into a barracks under the administration of the English provincial governor, Sir Richard Bingham.
During the reign of King James, Claregalway Friary was given to the Earl of Clanrickarde. By 1641, the Franciscans had reoccupied the abbey, but the building was in poor repair and the community lacked the ability to renovate it. The burial grounds surrounding the building are maintained and still in use.
Donal Dineen (my surname namesake but with only one ‘n’ in Dinneen) was the dj of the late and great show ‘The Small Hours’ on Today FM which finished up in December 2011. Donal began on Today FM with ‘Here Comes the Night’ in 1997 before moving to a later time slot for The Samll Hours in 2004. His shows featured, shall we say, not daytime playlists music. Electronic, alternative, indie and a whole lot more. a link to his Today FM blog and playlists.
He introduced me to a wide variety of new artists that I’d never have heard of otherwise, including Mount Kimbe, Mark E, Dalek, Efterklang, Monolith and many more.
(This seems like an obituary to Donal Dineen but he’s very much still alive)
The title of his late show The Small Hours is the perfect title for this photo. Just in case you didn’t realise by now every photography in my blog section has a relevant music title.
Photograph settings: f10, 15 seconds, wall used as a tripod.
CLAREGALWAY FRIARY
Claregalway Friary was founded by John de Cogan about 1250 and was richly endowed by the de Feoris or the de Bermingham family. The nave of this rectangular church has a north aisle of four bays. Here the sun shines through a window in the central tower. It’s a great ruin and ideally should be light up at nighttime.
