Ireland Revisited: Back to Birr!

Day 4 of 35: Saturday, August 7, 2010

A last glimpse out of our airport hotel window before heading off to the Midlands and back to Birr. Note the approaching airliner in the upper-left and the old cottage -- an island of the past in a sea of autos -- at lower-center.

We checked out of the hotel at about eleven, expecting to reach Birr at about one o'clock. We took the new M4 motorway (not available to us in 2006) and came in via Tullamore, which brought us to Birr considerably earlier than we had planned. It was a very pleasant, easy, scenic drive. As we entered County Offaly, we had a sense of coming home that became more intense the closer we came and the more familiar the land and the roads grew.

The old home-away-from, the Bothy, Birr Castle Demesne

When we arrived, staff had not quite finished preparing the Bothy for us, so we spent a couple of hours driving around Birr and the nearby countryside, re-acquainting ourselves. Many things had changed in four years, the most obvious of which was a new Tesco supermarket on the south side of town. Among its charms, in addition to groceries for the cottage's kitchen, were an ATM and a checker from Southern California who had recently moved here with her Irish husband.

Would look right at home in San Jose

We spent the late afternoon and evening strolling the Demesne grounds.

Fallen champion and as it appeared in 2006

We found that the great old Champion beech tree by the lakeside near the telescope had come down, and, while we were inspecting its stump, Lord Rosse appeared (with clipboard and pruning loppers, out tending things as is his wont on summer evenings.) He told us that the tree had been felled only a day before, at the insistence of the company that was insuring the Game and Country Fair later this month, because of evidence of rot. That's a shame; it was one of our favorites on the Demesne's Red Tree Trail.

Familiar charms:

The Leviathan of Parsonstown...

... the falls in the Fernery in gathering dusk...

... the old brick bridge over the Little Brosna...

... and the Bothy's "secret gate" to the gardens.

It was delicious to be back.

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This day's short slide show can be seen by clicking here.
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Next: August 8, 2010 -- Reunion with an Old Friend
Previous: August 6, 2010 -- The National Stud

New Blogroll Link: Margaret Ryall

Margaret Ryall

Margaret Ryall is an artist and educator in Newfoundland. I found her by Googling around for Birr Castle and the Bothy, as I do frequently, since that place is so dear to Diane's and my hearts. Ms. Ryall stayed in the Bothy for a fortnight in July of 2008, researching a body of work that will ultimately comprise 16 images that, together, "read" the garden of the Demesne.

That alone would have earned her a place in our appreciation. But her insight, expertise, and ability to express the technical aspects of fine art composition and production earn her a place of significant admiration. A seminar conducted by Ms. Ryall and Brian Fies would and should command an impressive tuition, since their talents and teaching abilities are unquestionably above merely top-tier.

As an introduction to Margaret Ryall's abilities, both in creation and instruction, please visit:

Her detailed recipe for critique, and
Her keen advice concerning enriching a center of interest in a visual composition.

While couched in terms of painting, this latter piece is equally applicable to photography. (And while not so directly applicable to cartooning, there is much that she says that could inform line-art structures. I think.)

As I often say, I'm hard-pressed to draw anything beyond a breath, but Ms. Ryall and Mr. Fies's presence in my daily reading allows me to better enjoy the works of those who can express themselves with facility and skill in visual media. They boost me along, sort of, to at least ride along on their wings and help me to enjoy the view.

And their expertise in wielding words is pretty cool, too.