Burrishoole Abbey Photo

Photographer’s Note

Dominican friars first came to Ireland in 1224. By the time of the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1540, they had established 38 houses. This Dominican Friary, dedicated to St. Mary, was founded around 1470 by Richard de Burgo of Turlough, Lord MacWilliam Oughter. Permission of the Pope had not been sought for its foundation -- an oversight for which the community faced a threat of excommunication -- but in 1486, the Pope instructed the Archbishop of Tuam to forgive the friars.

All that remains today is the church and the eastern wall of the cloister in which the monks walked and meditated. All the domestic buildings -- the kitchens, the dormitories and the refectory -- have been destroyed. The church consists of a nave and chancel, a south transept and a low tower. A 15th century bronze seal, which may have been the official seal of the friary, was found embedded in a window of the upstairs dormitory.
The site is very serene and well-kept, located on an inlet of the sea. The area features prominently in the legendary " Father Manus Sweeney," of which a book and movie were made. The Year of the French was a period in the late 1700s, when the local Irish rebelled against their English oppressors, with the assistance of the French. Needless to say, things didn't go very well and the French abandoned their attempts and left the poor Irish rebels to deal with the consequences. In the middle of Burrishoole Abbey is a large Celtic cross headstone for a priest, Father Manus Sweeney, who was hung for his involvement in the uprising

wishlist, ahmetgedikli, paura, Gerrit, ribeiroantonio, ktanska, Angshu, feather, danos, derek3755, josepmarin, portmanndominic, avene, jlbrthnn, Didi, bakes888, GUYOFF, xuaxo, pboehringer, vascao, emjleclercq has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Mixer (60) 2008-08-26 12:58

Love the sky and light through the window

Morac (20891) 2008-08-26 13:09

Hello Pat,
This church in ruins and the sky are superb. The view of sky through the window in ruins is magnificent.
It is very beautiful work.
Regards
Marc

wishlist (4133) 2008-08-26 13:17

Hi Pat,
what a sky..what a light..what a beautiful detail of the church. Excellent compo with great light management to emphasize the atmosphere of the place and deliver great details. The sky through the window is, to me, the classic icing on the cake..the element that makes the difference. Great job, I like it!
Regards,

Igor

ahmetgedikli (22128) 2008-08-26 13:45

Hi Pat,
Beautiful shot! Good colours, good point of view and superb sky. Well done.
All the best.
Ahmet

paura (39306) 2008-08-26 13:50

Pat,
Colours and lighting are really very beautiful here. The compo on the church ruins results in an excellent photo. well done!

Abraço

Paulo

Yeoman (1015) 2008-08-26 14:01

Great picture : idea, composition, realisation, lights, colors, weather, atmosphere, place... I hope I did not forgotten something ! ;-)

Congratulations,

Emmanuel Grenat

Gerrit (36287) 2008-08-26 15:29

Hi Pat,
the altar under the sky and the beautiful sunset colors through the window. Great composition.
Regards, Gerrit

ribeiroantonio (21975) 2008-08-26 16:48

It is a great picture with a magnificent sky and a stunning sunset light through the beautiful window. Well done.
Antonio

radiohead (335) 2008-08-26 21:36

Hi Pat,
You have captured a beautiful image! Great management of light and nice composition. TFS.
Kind regards, Michele.

ktanska (16695) 2008-08-26 23:17

Hi Pat,
Roofless stone altar that has been there for centuries. Very timeless feeling. This time the combination of evening sky and fill in flash is quite convincing. Magical place.
Kari

feather (50154) 2008-08-27 2:54

I'm boiling ! I did this once and then got cut off! This site at the moment is driving me mad!!
I was admiring this gorgeous image. The sky is beautiful and the light around the widow edges is really eyecatching. I thought you had used active D-lighting but I see you used flash. It has worked a treat. I love the way the Celtic cross is peeping through the window. Excellent shot.
Kath

danos (33300) 2008-08-27 4:01

Hello Pat,
nice shot with this superb light that comes from the rail window and the sky make the scene to atmospheric.The ruins of the church without roof,make more impressive the photo.Excellent the management of the difficult lighting conditions as the colors too.Well done.

Regards,Danos

derek3755 (2341) 2008-08-27 5:03

Hi Pat

wonderful shot, with the flash you have enough detail inside the church to show the stone work and th elight is so well balanced with the sky, and what a wonderful sky it is too.

Regards
Derek

josepmarin (34107) 2008-08-27 10:51

Hi Pat,
The weak light and the soft colors of the sunset wrapping these ruins they work very well, and your setting with the window where we see the clouds and the sky increases the graphism and the aesthetic interest of your composition.
Nice work, it has a good visual effect.
HLJ
Josep

chawax (6173) 2008-08-27 10:58

Hi Pat,
I visited this place last year (and I loved the place !), but I had not such a light ! Well done.
Regards,
Olivier

portmanndominic (2388) 2008-08-27 11:09

hello Pat

Beautiful lights for a beautiful place , you choose a nice POV and you general manage of th the lights and the colours are optimal
TFS
best regards
Dominic

avene (11140) 2008-08-27 14:15

hi Pat,
I really like the light here, it has that beautiful pink and purple accent that makes everything look special. it also brings out the textures of the stone wall, something I've always enjoyed. and I absolutely love how you have framed the photo with the golden morning clouds just visible through the window. all the little details together create a magic and somewhat mystic mood. great work, my compliments.

best,
Kristine

gunbud (28163) 2008-08-27 19:09

Hi Pat,
What a stunning sky you have showing through the ancient window and surrounding the ruins. The vivid blue sky with its lovely wispy clouds makes the perfect backdrop for the cold grey stone monastery.
According to my sister's genetic research our great-great grandfather was among those Irishmen with the French that surrendered to the British. The French were allowed to return to France while the Irish were hung.
Regards, Tom

[2] +

Angshu (34119) 2008-08-27 20:47

Hi Pat
What a sky & beautiful light! The clouds just on top of the pointed wall looks like smoke emanating from it. Love the view of the sky as seen through the arched windows. Your exposure handling is excellent considering the FG is quite dark. This is a very good work Pat!
Best Regards
Angshu

jlbrthnn (38971) 2008-08-28 2:19

Hello Pat,
The grace of the Powerful Whole touches this beautiful still elegant construction in spite of the aggressions of time. The colors are splendid. Obviously, a superb work.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

Didi (36452) 2008-08-30 8:30

Hi Pat
Typical Irish ambiance with an inetresting control of the lights exposure.
I appreciate well this evening moment.
Cheers.

Bluejeans (33081) 2008-08-30 12:07

Ola Pat,
Que magnifica composição com estas ruínas contra um céu fabuloso de fundo , os detalhes ficaram muito bons , gostei muito das cores, parabéns!!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

bakes888 (18353) 2008-08-31 2:42

Hi Pat. Great photo. Excellent composition with good symmetry and balance. Unusual to see flash used for sunset photography but you have balanced the flash and natural light perfectly and the result speaks for itself. Well done and thanks for sharing.
Have a good week, Paul.

GUYOFF (899) 2008-08-31 11:06

Hi Pat,

Great and wonderfull note, this picture is good as well, framing and lights are beautiful....Welldone

Thanks for this sharing

GUY

pablominto (41372) 2008-09-02 0:49

Hello Pat,

The rough architecture tells about some hundreds of years passed since this was erected!
Tight framing directs my attention to the fine window and even beyond...
Good details and a wonderful sky!

Greetings,
Pablo -

nels (2455) 2008-09-02 6:34

hello pat, love it !!! the textures of the ruins and the view of the sky through the arched window is perfect tfs
adrian
one to add to my favorites!

baba_flies (8099) 2008-09-04 10:19

Hello Pat! I am glad I live now :) I guess the good old times never existed and it is just in our heads that it once was so much better. The clouds go into all directions as if they would like to leave a sign on the ruins but this is probably again my phantasy that goes wild. I love the open air view here and especially the look through the window with the black could moving through like a big ship. Fantastic atmosphere and despite the fact that it has seen difficult times the whole site somehow came to a rest. For me it seems very peaceful. Excellent work! Barbara.

MarianneS (14426) 2008-09-04 12:57

Hi Pat,
You captured a nice sky, with sweet colours above these old stones. The contrasts between the ruins of the Abbey and the sky work very well. I particularly like the part of the sky which appears through the window.
Regards,
Marianne

xuaxo (5835) 2008-09-11 9:42

Olá Pat
Pretty view of the ruins. Very nice contrast between the symmetry of the building and the randomness of the clouds. Wonderful light.
SAA. F.

jimkilgallon (0) 2008-09-23 1:05

Hello Pat
I missed this one from your Irish trip, this is a capture of Irish heritage at it's very best. Abandoned but the atmosphere that you explained in your note lives on. The church shows excellent detail especially in the shadow areas. Stunning subtle colourings and equally as beautiful cloud formations. This is a very very impressive shot Pat.
Regards
Jim

pboehringer (770) 2008-10-04 4:36

Pat,
I was sure that I had written a citique for this one, but to my surprise that isn't the case. Well, what can be said? The clouds on the top coming out of the walls and the colors breaking through the window are simply fantastic elements of a great composition. Not quite sure if lightning up the wall would be the right thing.
Peter

P.S. Now that I see the same image on my home screen I see that the balance between the wall and the sky is absolutely perfect. The other screen at work showed the wall dark, wihtout any details. Forget about my comment earlier regards lighting up the wall.

vascao (192) 2008-10-04 13:22

Spooky! So Irish, everything, the clouds, the colors and the ruins... Really good.
[]'s
Sergio

kiks (6149) 2008-11-15 10:26

I realy like the mysterious mood of this photo. THe cloud at the center of the image works realy good. Well seen!
Best regards
KIKs

emjleclercq (14514) 2008-11-28 22:59

A well chosen moment because the sunset lightens the image. Very nice sky. And I notice the inclusion of the small cross from a tombstone seen through the window. If voluntary, very clever (otherwise, a nice unexpected bonus).

All the best,

Emmanuel

jmcl (14149) 2008-12-27 8:04

Hi Pat,

I had missed this .. what a beautiful and thoughtful sky and light to with this place .. the move from light to dark are dramatic and wonderful .. wonderful image .. on the left side about 80% up toward the top is a triangle in the sky .. some sort of artifact of something ? .. nonetheless wondrous. .. beautiful .. take care, John