A Visit With Mary In Clare And Tipparary
October/03/2008 Ireland Journal
Before leaving for Ireland, we arranged to meet Mary McCollough just after we landed in Shannon in the nearby town of Ennis, which has become our usual breakfast stop, since a 7:00 P.M. flight out of Newark arrives in Shannon at 7:00 A.M. I absolutely love the atmosphere of this wonderful market town in County Clare. With its narrow streets and quaint shops throughout, I was not surprised to learn that Ennis was named by the International Project for Public Spaces as one of the World's Top 60 Great Places to Visit.
Although Mary lives in the County Tipperary town of Nenagh, where she operates Source Photography as an on-location business, she is considering the possibility of opening a storefront studio in Ennis, which is not a long drive from her home. After breakfast at the Old Ground Hotel, which is the site of Jim's favorite Ennis pub, we visited several possible locations for Mary's business, including the one shown below, where I photographed Mary and Jim.
Later, when we arrived in County Tipperary, Mary showed us the lovely little country village, Ballycommon, where she was born. When I say Ballycommon is little, I mean it: Driving on the road to the village, we came upon this beautiful house, which happens to be where Mary's sister lives. It is located at the beginning of the town. After passing three or more houses, we were out of Ballycommon!
Just before closing time, we stopped at the delightfully colorful John Hanly & Co., a woolen mill near Ballycommon that has been in operation since 1893.
From the mill, we drove on to the darling town of Garrykennedy, which dates back to the Norman era, and where there were lots of picturesque scenes to photograph . . .
. . . including the tiny harbor on the lovely Lough Derg, which was a stone's throw from the cozy pub where we had dinner.
Larkins is owned by a friend of Mary's, and it was the perfect place to dine on our first night in Ireland.
I love to eat at pubs or to just sit for a while and enjoy the congenial atmosphere . . . as well as the occasional pint.
The next day we met Mary in her home town of Nenagh, which is one of two county seats in County Tipperary.
Here she is in front of a display of her photography above the coffee bar in a large local bookstore owned by a friend. I've found that Irish photographers do a much better job of networking with their friends and neighbors than American photographers do. It seems to come naturally in Ireland.
We had particularly nice accommodations for our two-day stay in County Tipperary. By sheer happenstance, Jim booked a room at Otway Lodge in the small country village of Dromineer, also on the shore of Lough Derg. When Mary found out where we we staying, she said this would be our first experience that proves what a small world Ireland is. Turns out the Lodge, shown below, is owned by her sister-in-law Ann, and her husband Frank!
Here's a view of the lake, which is only a few steps from Otway Lodge.
A charming thatched-roof cottage adjoins the Lodge grounds . . .
. . . and only a few yards away, you'll find the ruins of a castle that dates back to the 13th century.
Leaving Dromineer, we started on our way east to County Kildare. At Mary's suggestion, we stoped in the small town of Roscrea, to visit the studio of Brian Redmond. Mary's first job in photography was with Brian, whom she was eager for us to meet. Here's a view of Roscrea.
Brian has a beautiful store-front studio on a main street.
We were fortunate to find him in, and he very kindly offered us a tour of his beautifully organized studio. We learned that Brian has been in the business of photography as long as we have, and we really enjoyed seeing his outstanding blend of classic and contemporary photography. Take a minute to visit his website, because I'll bet that you'll particularly enjoy taking a peek at some charming Irish weddings through Brian's lens.
Although Mary lives in the County Tipperary town of Nenagh, where she operates Source Photography as an on-location business, she is considering the possibility of opening a storefront studio in Ennis, which is not a long drive from her home. After breakfast at the Old Ground Hotel, which is the site of Jim's favorite Ennis pub, we visited several possible locations for Mary's business, including the one shown below, where I photographed Mary and Jim.
Later, when we arrived in County Tipperary, Mary showed us the lovely little country village, Ballycommon, where she was born. When I say Ballycommon is little, I mean it: Driving on the road to the village, we came upon this beautiful house, which happens to be where Mary's sister lives. It is located at the beginning of the town. After passing three or more houses, we were out of Ballycommon!
Just before closing time, we stopped at the delightfully colorful John Hanly & Co., a woolen mill near Ballycommon that has been in operation since 1893.
From the mill, we drove on to the darling town of Garrykennedy, which dates back to the Norman era, and where there were lots of picturesque scenes to photograph . . .
. . . including the tiny harbor on the lovely Lough Derg, which was a stone's throw from the cozy pub where we had dinner.
Larkins is owned by a friend of Mary's, and it was the perfect place to dine on our first night in Ireland.
I love to eat at pubs or to just sit for a while and enjoy the congenial atmosphere . . . as well as the occasional pint.
The next day we met Mary in her home town of Nenagh, which is one of two county seats in County Tipperary.
Here she is in front of a display of her photography above the coffee bar in a large local bookstore owned by a friend. I've found that Irish photographers do a much better job of networking with their friends and neighbors than American photographers do. It seems to come naturally in Ireland.
We had particularly nice accommodations for our two-day stay in County Tipperary. By sheer happenstance, Jim booked a room at Otway Lodge in the small country village of Dromineer, also on the shore of Lough Derg. When Mary found out where we we staying, she said this would be our first experience that proves what a small world Ireland is. Turns out the Lodge, shown below, is owned by her sister-in-law Ann, and her husband Frank!
Here's a view of the lake, which is only a few steps from Otway Lodge.
A charming thatched-roof cottage adjoins the Lodge grounds . . .
. . . and only a few yards away, you'll find the ruins of a castle that dates back to the 13th century.
Leaving Dromineer, we started on our way east to County Kildare. At Mary's suggestion, we stoped in the small town of Roscrea, to visit the studio of Brian Redmond. Mary's first job in photography was with Brian, whom she was eager for us to meet. Here's a view of Roscrea.
Brian has a beautiful store-front studio on a main street.
We were fortunate to find him in, and he very kindly offered us a tour of his beautifully organized studio. We learned that Brian has been in the business of photography as long as we have, and we really enjoyed seeing his outstanding blend of classic and contemporary photography. Take a minute to visit his website, because I'll bet that you'll particularly enjoy taking a peek at some charming Irish weddings through Brian's lens.