Claregalway Friary, County Galway

August 14, 2017

“Sunlight ran incandescent over the water to illuminate the leaves lapping at its banks. She stood there, listless, hungry, watching them sway like skirts, shifting greens with the flowing current, until her eyes slowly lifted towards the abbey. The buildings once bustling, once warm, now stood deserted and quiet. And as she studied the tower, the windows slowly crumbling, she sighed. If only it was that they could eat stone.”

— Claire Loader

Stuck so often in traffic on the N17, it never bothers me once we get into Claregalway - stopped beside such a beauty, I could stare at the abbey forever. An imposing yet delicate silhouette, she sits against an ever-changing sky, her huge trace window catching the evening rays, as the sun filters into the chancel and sets the stone alight.

Find this beautiful ruin and many more of my favourite places here. Come explore with me…

Buy this stunning Claregalway photo art block and other handmade gifts here.

Boyle Abbey, County Roscommon

August 9, 2017

“Stationed here,
this dreary place,
this god forsaken rain.
On my heart a heavy cloud,
as I think what once was ours,
as I sit beneath these broken walls,
as I search in vain for stars.”

— Claire Loader

One of the few abbeys in the country that demands a fee, Boyle certainly has some gems to convince you of her worth. A sheela na gig and graffiti from 1724 alone are worth the few euros. John Seeds must have had a lot of time on his hands.

Shop this and other handmade photo art blocks at my Etsy shop here.

Poulnabrone Dolmen, County Clare

August 6, 2017

“The morning sun shifted off rock to daze the waking fields, sending a soft hum out from the earth to drift softly over the mountains. And I felt them then, between the stone, all those who had passed before and I couldn’t help but smile, that something once so cold and lifeless, could link our very hearts.”

— Claire Loader

There is another worldliness to Poulnabrone, despite the many visitors from this world that crowd daily around her feet. Yet, be it the lay lines of the Burren stone, the wind that kisses the giant plinths, no matter how many others you share her with, standing before this giant monument you feel entirely alone – embraced in a personal communion with the echoes of the past.

Seek the past and her beautiful ruins here. Come explore with me…