Thursday Doors – Street Art and Mythology

This month’s Thursday Doors features some more street art but this time from Ballycastle, County Antrim with some Irish mythology thrown in. Many towns in Ireland are now commissioning artists to brighten up their localities with murals depicting their history and culture. Some are epic pieces that fill the gable of a two or three story house and others are more subtle and blend in with their surroundings. I loved this first one at the Coffee Loft, where we had a delicious lunch. It’s set in a small garden centre in the middle of the town and the painted doors and windows really add that cosy, cottagey feel to the place.

I’ll leave you to figure out what is real and what is not in the next image of the buildings across the street from the garden centre.

Copies of old photographs have been magnified and added to some walls around the town and this one is probably my favourite, a little girl and her calf. Ballycastle was a thriving market town in the past and I think this is a lovely reminder of that.

Of course there is always a colourful gable mural to be found and this one was easy to spot.

I’m pretty sure this mural depicts Sadhbh, the wife of Fionn MaCumhaill who is associated with the Giant’s Causeway not far from Ballycastle. The oak leaf possibly refers to the oak tree being a Celtic symbol for strength. Because Sadhbh refused to marry a druid he put a spell on her and she changed into a young doe and remained like that for over three years. One of the druid’s men felt sorry for her and said if she entered the home of one of the Fianna (a fearsome warrior band in Irish mythology) the spell would be broken.

Sadhbh took his advice and left, eventually arriving at the home of Fionn MaCumhaill, leader of the Fianna. When she was transformed into her original human form, the mighty warrior instantly fell in love with her and she must have felt the same way, as not long after they were married. However their time together was short lived.

When she became pregnant Fionn was overjoyed but the evil druid cursed Sadhbh as he had never forgiven her for refusing him. She was once again transformed into a deer, while her husband was away in battle. When Fionn returned his wife was missing and he spent the next seven years searching the whole of Ireland for her. One day he came across a young boy who had been living wild in the forests and mountains. His two hounds ran to the child and protected him and Fionn took a good look at his face and saw a similarity to his missing wife.

Realizing this must be his son, Fionn took the boy home with him and named him Oisin, who went on to become the greatest of all the Fianna. Unfortunately, Sadhbh was never found.

Update: I have just found a link online to this street art. It doesn’t depict Sadhbh but I’m leaving the story up as it’s a good one. This mural was painted by the artist Friz and features Princess Taisie, daughter of King Dorm of Rathlin Island. She was renowned for her great beauty and was bethrothed to Congal, heir to the Kingdom of Ireland. The king of Norway also sought her hand in marriage but when he arrived to claim his bride her wedding celebrations to Congal were underway. The King of Norway and his army tried to capture Taisie but in the subsequent battle he was killed and his army fled leaderless and empty handed. I think I prefer the story of Sadhbh but at least this week you got two for the price of one.

Thanks for stopping by. There are lots more links to doors and photos from around the world over on Dan’s blog. I hope you enjoyed this month’s Thursday Doors with its street art and mythology.

Thursday Doors – Street Art

It’s been a dull, wet February this year so I thought a colourful Thursday Doors post was in order and these street art images definitely fit the bill. Last year was Dundalk, County Louth’s third year of the Seek Festival which promotes contemporary urban art in the town. By commissioning established and emerging artists locally, nationally and internationally, they aim to promote the town culturally and artistically.

This first mural is by Italian artist Basik, whose style mixes his graffiti background with a graphic approach to painting, which is inspired by Medieval and Renaissance art. His work also looks at distinctive traits in popular culture and antique religious imagery. Basik was selected to depict Oliver Plunkett (1625-1681) who was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. In spite of religious persecution from the English Crown he continued his duties and was arrested on the charge of treason. At first, he was imprisoned in cells underground in Dundalk, near where this mural has been painted, before being transported to London, where his trial took place. Oliver Plunkett was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn in July, 1681.

The artist, Friz, was invited once again to participate in the festival last year. She works in both traditional and digital media and has a strong focus on spray painting. Her commission was to depict the life of Frances Leopold McClintock who was born in July 1819 in Dundalk. He was one of fourteen children and his father had been an officer in the 3rd Dragoon Guards. With little formal education he entered the Royal Navy as a gentleman volunteer when he was almost twelve and rose through the ranks to be commissioned as a lieutenant in 1845. Three years later, he volunteered to take part in a search for the missing Franklin expedition. During the course of a series of Arctic searches McClintock charted vast stretches of coastline and developed new methods for polar travelling.

Franklin’s wife was determined that a proper search should be carried out of the islands off the mouth of the Great Fish River. She knew it was highly unlikely that there would be any survivors of her husband’s expedition but hoped that some records might be found and any remains of the crew would be given a Christian burial. However, the Admiralty refused to fund yet another search, especially as a good many years had gone by, so she raised the money herself and contacted Frances McClintock. He was in Dublin on half-pay with plenty of time on his hands so he helped her obtain a ship, The Fox, a small steamship of 177 tons. In April 1857 she offered him command of the expedition. It’s a fascinating account so I’ll leave a link to it at the end of this post. *

This last mural is by an Australian artist, Sam Bates aka Smug, who is based in Glasgow. It took him ten days to paint the the 41 metre high depiction of the warrior god Lugh (Lu) using 247 cans of spray paint and 180 litres of emulsion. You can see the gleaming spear in his hand but behind that hedge there is an Irish wolfhound at his feet. It graces the Crowne Plaza Hotel and is apparantly the tallest mural in Ireland.

It wasn’t just this shop’s colourful window display that caught my eye – the name got my attention, too. The business belongs to a young local designer, 24 year old Megan McGuigan. Seeking Judy is a printed textile brand based in Ireland. They also specialise in hand dyed and reworked pieces.

At the age of fifteen, Megan started her business as a pop up shop while she was still in school. After graduating from NCAD with a degree in Fashion Design in 2019, she gave Seeking Judy her full attention and it has become a skate inspired streetwear brand, influenced by her time spent in Barcelona, Spain. I’ll put a link to their website at the end of the post.**

Many of the town’s doors and window trims are painted in eye-catching colours from purple to vibrant yellow, which really brightens up the place on a grey day. I hope you enjoyed the street art in this colourful Thursday Doors post, thanks for stopping by and if you carry on over to Dan’s blog you’ll find a great collection of links there to explore.

The Artic Fox *

Seeking Judy **

Thursday Doors – Old and New

Welcome to a new year of Thursday Doors, although I’m using some photos from the old year. I’m sorry I’ve been missing this past couple of months, the end of 2021 was a very busy time for me. I’ve decided to cut back a lot on all forms of social media in an effort to spend more time writing (my latest book is taking me forever). For 2022 I’ll be blogging just once a month and mostly Thursday Doors. So for January let’s kick off with some more old ruins from Trim, county Meath. These are all part of a group known as The Newtown Monuments.

The largest of these ruins is Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, dating back to 1206.

Buried under the high alter of the cathedral are the remains of the founder Simon de Rochford (died 1224) and one of his successors, Bishop William Sherwood, who died in 1428.

This priory was founded in the early 13th century for the Crossed Friars of the Order of John the Baptist.

The first mention of the priory is in 1281 when there was a grant of alms from the manor of Magathtreth.

In 1513 Edmund Dillon was prior of the monastery. He was the brother of Thomas Dillon, prior of Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral around the same time.

Eventually, the priory and its possession were granted to Robert Dillon who later disposed of it to the Ashe family and they made their home in the main keep.

After being abandoned by the Ashe family the keep was inhabited by Bishop Brown the Roman Catholic Bishop of Meath. After the Battle of the Boyne the building was granted to one of King William’s men but he didn’t stay there too long. On his first night he saw a “most horrid vision” and as soon as it was dawn he mounted his horse and rode away, never to return.

In the ruins of the church stands the tomb of Sir Lucas Dillon and his wife Lady Jane Bathe. He is depicted wearing Renaissance armour while she wears an Elizabethan gown. This tomb is known locally as the Tomb of the Jealous Man and Woman because the sword of state separates them and they are not touching.

Thanks for stopping by this month’s Thursday Doors and taking a look at my old and new photos and news, Dan has lots of interesting links over on his blog.

Thursday Doors – The Wall

Continuing with Trim Castle and its features, Thursday Doors takes a good look at the wall this week.

A castle’s wall running between two towers or bastions was called a curtain wall. Built for a defense purpose, usually a moat or ditch ran around the outside. These were mostly very high walls and extremely thick, often seven feet or more.

On top of the walls were battlements from where the defenders could shoot with relative safety, except when a cannonball came hurtling in their direction. However, behind the parapets there was a walkway, allowing movement from one place to another.

As you can see from the photos, the wall and its towers surrounding Trim castle have shrunk in height and in places disappeared completely.

Shortly after its builder, de Lacy, left Ireland entrusting the castle and lands to one of his chief lieutenants, the last High King of Ireland, Ruaidrí Ua Canannáin, destroyed it.

He probably used something like this to complete his task;

Thanks for coming along on another tour of Trim Castle this week. Dan has some very interesting doors waiting for you over on his blog. Next week I’ll be leaving the castle and its wall behind but there will be another nice selection of the towns ruins to explore on my Thursday Doors post.

Thursday Doors – The Keep

The Keep at Trim Castle is in the heart of its grounds and on this week’s Thursday Doors we’ll have a really good look at it.

This is quite a unique structure in that along with a square tower on each corner there is another square tower on each side wall, too, thus making it a 20 sided building. This may have been an experimental design to test its security in the event of an attack from the native Irish Gaelic kings and their tribes. The function of a keep is to offer a last place of refuge if the castle walls are breached, which makes it a fortress in itself.

By the early 1500s most of Ireland was back in the control of the Gaelic chieftans, except for an area surrounding Dublin called The Pale or The English Pale. However Trim castle, which was allowed to fall into decline, still maintained a military presence as a form of protection.

No wonder Mel Gibson chose it as a location for some of the scenes for the movie Braveheart.

We couldn’t get in to have a look inside as guided tours were not operating at the time but here’s a drawing of what it used to look like in its day.

Thanks for coming along this week and if you’d like to see more, my next post will feature the remainder of the structures within the castle walls. For some amazing elevated views of Trim Castle check out the link at the end of this post.*

If you’re still in the mood for a bit more exploring after our tour around the Keep, Dan has a great selection of links to Thursday Doors from around the world over on his blog.

Aerial view of Trim Castle*

Thursday Doors – The Castle Grounds

This week on Thursday Doors we explore the grounds behind the walls of Trim Castle. I would definitely have felt much more secure living inside rather than out. Those houses on the opposite side of the moat look a bit too vulnerable to me. As we go through the great arched entrance there is a stairway to the left leading up to the Gatehouse.

Once inside the castle walls, we get a better view of the Gatehouse. A lot of it is still intact but is closed off from the public for safety reasons.

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To the left of the entrance the wall runs along to what remains of the Great Hall.

My apologies for what looks like a blurred spot in some of the following images. I must have had a mark on the camera lens and didn’t notice at the time. This one looks like a surprised face. The next image shows us what the Great Hall looked like in its day.

Any issues relating to the Lordship were discussed at meetings in this building. Courts, parliaments and feasts were held there, too. Next week, we’ll see some more of the castle grounds and in the meantime Dan has a feast of Thursday Doors over on his blog.

Thursday Doors – Trim Castle

Trim Castle, featured on this week’s Thursday Doors, is Ireland’s largest Anglo-Norman castle and was constructed on the site of an earlier wooden fortress. This is how it looks from one of the main roads leading into town and I’m sure a knight in armour sat on his horse at some point in time in the same place that the motorcycle rider has parked his modern day steed. Hugh de Lacy and his son, Walter, were granted the Liberty of Meath by King Henry II in 1172 and about 1176 commenced the buiding of the castle, which took more than thirty years to complete.

The castle and its thick walls look even more impressive from across the river.

There’s a lovely park with picnic tables and benches outside the castle walls.

Well, that’s enough photos of the exterior so let’s make our way over to the main entrance.

You’ll have to wait until next week to walk through Trim Castle’s big old archway but if you head on over to Dan’s blog there’s a great collection of Thursday Doors just waiting to be found.

Thursday Doors – Colourful Trim

Still in Trim, County Meath for this week’s Thursday Doors and I’m starting off with a colourful one. Sure how could I pass up a door that’s so vibrantly red?

When you can’t find a red door, a red house will do nicely.

Or an orange one.

This one is probably my favourite of the forty shades of green we have here in Ireland. Forest green comes to mind. The sign on the door depicts the arm of a knight pointing to the entrance. That’s a hint as to what next week’s post will feature. It might not be as colourful but it will definitely be in Trim and in the meantime, there are lots more Thursday Doors over on Dan’s blog to explore.

Thursday Doors – A Very Old Bridge

This week on Thursday Doors I thought we might look at some of the heritage buildings and one very old bridge in the centre of Trim, County Meath. This first one is the courthouse and was built about 1810 to the design of Richard Morrison. Grand Juries commissioned courthouses in various towns and cities of Ireland between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Designed by Richard Morrison, the size and quality of this courthouse makes it one of the the town’s most impressive public buildings. It sits on a juncion of three streets, so you can’t miss it.

Next we have a bank that dates from 1910 and was designed by L. A. O’Donnell. Unlike most of the other buildings of the town, which tend to be limestone or rendered, this one is redbrick and really stands out from the rest with its warm tones.

Before we cross this bridge, let’s have a look at its history. A wooden bridge stood here until it was swept away by floods in 1330. This more solid one was built in its place using local stone. It has had only minor changes in its lifetime and claims to be Ireland’s oldest bridge that has been unaltered and in continuous use for almost 700 years.

There’s another bridge in the distance but we’ll cross that when we come to it in a week or so.

The walk on this side of the river gives the best aspect of the bridge. I think it’s doing remarkably well considering the weight of modern day traffic. Thanks so much for stopping by this week and crossing a very old bridge with me, there are lots more Thursday Doors posts waiting for you over on Dan’s blog.

Thursday Doors – Trim

The title of this week’s Thursday Doors isn’t referring to a door trim but the town of Trim in County Meath. In Irish the name is Baile Atha Troim, meaning town at the ford of elderflowers. It is situated on the Boyne river and the elderberries growing along the riverbank were the juiciest I’ve ever tasted. Having featured our lovely accommodation on my last post I thought I would bring you on a wee tour of the town centre to give you a sense of its historic nature. I would be very tempted to book a few nights in the Bounty Bar (first image) judging from what I can see on the outside alone. Those shutters and the stonework go so well together. The flowers are the icing on the cake, for me.

We didn’t have enough time to give the Judge & Jury a trial but maybe on my next visit to the town I’ll investigate it and give my you my verdict. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist those puns. If you can come up with any more I’d love to hear them.

Hanging baskets and boxes featured everywhere in the town and they really brightened up the buildings.

Even a tiny shed peeking through some shrubbery had a couple of nice planters complimenting it. Some doors were only two dimensional, as you’ll see from the following images.

I thought the three women in the above photo had followed me back to my accommodation when I opened my bedroom door and saw these strange looking characters.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s post from Trim and if you carry on over to Dan’s blog you’ll find lots of links to interesting Thursday Doors from around the world.