Danone Cup Regional Finals 2012

 The Danone Cup Regional Finals were held this morning at Dysert Park, Ardmore.  Teams taking part were Ardmore AFC and Ballybridge Utd from the WWEC Schoolboy League and two teams from the Cork Schoolboy League, Carrigaline and College Corinthians.

The photos on this post are from the Ardmore vs Carrigaline game.

The College boys won out in the end but not before two nerve wracking final games in which Ardmore, Carrigaline or College could have taken the title depending on results.  A great mornings soccer was enjoyed by a sizeable crowd and the U-12 teams on display weren't short on committemnt or talent, even if the season has been over with weeks for some of them.

The event was superbly marshaled by Tom Power and Vinnie Coonan of the WWEC Schoolboy League and officiated over by the Griffin brothers, Paul and Kieran, from nearby Youghal.

Last Train To Youghal...

I was in Youghal last week, Thursday 10th May to be precise, and seeing as the day was so nice, decided to take a trip to the beach to take a few photos.  I had my Canon EOS350D in the car and off I went toddling along the beach taking in the sun, the sand and the cool summer breeze.  It really was a beautiful day and I couldn' help but begin to wonder how many thousands of people had come to this lovely part of Co. Cork down the decades gone.  Many of them traveling down from Cork city on the Cork city to Youghal rail line, buckets and spades with the kids, flasks of tea and ham sandwiches with the adults; and a few bottles of porter no doubt hidden away in a coat pocket as well.  

Sadly, the rail link to Youghal is now a thing of the distant past; a victim of inept management, poor foresight and downright " couldn't care less" attitude of Iarnrod Eireann (Irish Rail).

 People still come to Youghal Beach from all parts of the country.  By car.  By bus.  By motorbike.  By bicycle.  Even by boat.

No more by the gentle rumbling of a train carriage though.

Choo Choo.

Thou Shalt Not Steal...

Below is a photograph I took in July 2009, at the Ardmore Pattern Festival in Ardmore.  It's a good action shot, of a powerboat heading back toward the beach area of the village during a display.  It is by no means a big favourite of mine or anything, just another shot taken on an ordinary enough afternoon.  The organisers of the Ardmore Pattern Festival asked me if they could use it, and some others I took, on their website for future promotion.  I let them, on the condition that if anyone else was to take an interest in the work as a result of seeing the photos on their site then they, the Festival organisers, would clear it with me first.  Do you know where this is heading?  Oh for the record, I didn't ask for any payment from the Ardmore Pattern Festival as they organise a fine festival every year and a lot of them would be friends of mine.

 Now here is where it gets interesting.  About a year after this photo was taken, a man who operates a seasonal sea adventures business asked for use of the same image and I let him use it, again free of charge.  Now for the interesting part to the story...

Six months ago, the Waterford Leader Partnership, a semi-state body who give grants to, support and nurture, and generally take on board good business ideas from individuals and businesses in rural Ireland, decided to publish a very well laid out catalogue of businesses that they have supported with grant aid over the last few years. Two of those businesses happened to be the sea adventures guy and the Ardmore Pattern Festival...

Waterford Leader Partnership decided to "borrow" my image from one of the online locations and use it as part of their very well put together catalogue and to also include it as part of an audio visual PowerPoint which they brought on display to various towns and villages in Waterford, including my home village Ardmore...

To say the presenter of the AV promotion was red-faced when I asked her if she had gotten permission to use my image...

I leave the rest for you to decide...

Mind your pics, you never know who might take a shine to them...

The House

   It stands like a last outpost of some rapidly dwindling kingdom; it's rooftop visible from all points of the compass even though wild shrubs and high skinny sallies almost completely surround it and have done so for many years now.  There is one single solitary sentry of a door, hanging off one of its two original iron hinges, rust covers everything metal in this place and the door hinges are no exception.  Some of the windows are intact.  Some are not. Their softwood frames are valiantly trying to hang on to the glass that they have framed for decades, glass that children looked out through on cold frosty mornings before they walked four miles to school.  The window frames are trying to  stem the aging process just like the rest of us lie about our age or try some magic potion to stop the march of time. 

 Paint is peeling from the door.  Paint is peeling from the walls inside.  The floors of concrete have long since sagged and sunk into the earth below them, children once played on floors here, their knees sore from kneeling down playing marbles.  An electric light cable hangs from one of the ceilings.  A reminder of a short lived experiment in 1967, when my father erected a small windmill on the roof to generate electricity; the house was not on the National Electricity grid and would never be.

Many hands put a thumb on the latch to open this door, between 1944 and 1968; from my grand-father who was the first owner through to my father who closed the door for the last time in February 1968, when he took his wife and four children to a different part of the parish to live. 

I was one of those children.

 

Take a Break...

Sometimes we get so caught up in the mad rush of trying to fulfill all our goals that we forget the one thing that goes with all great creative work.  Rest.  Our minds need a break.  Our bodies need a break.  People we annoy, harangue and cajole for favours need a rest from us too.. 

This simple wooden bench is situated on the Cliff Walk,  in Ardmore, starting point of which is about fifteen minutes walk from my home.  It was put at the eastern side of the walk, near the end, to allow those who had almost completed the picturesque ramble take a little break before re-entering the hustle and bustle of the streets and lanes of our seaside village once again. 

It's been a while since I walked the Cliff Walk and until recently it had been a while since I took a break.  

Yes.  We all need a little break now and then.  Try it. 

When East meets West...

No, not the battle of political superpowers, something much more mundane but a battle nonetheless.  I was at Walsh Park GAA stadium in Waterford city last night to take some photos at the annual John O'Regan U-14 football game between East and West Waterford.  For the unitiated among you, the county has two separate sections for some of its competitions.   West Waterford emerged victorious, YA!!!, on a 2-7 to 2-5 scoreline.  It was a good old fashioned helter-skelter of a match and there are some young boys from both sides who have the potential to be full county footballers in four or five years time. 

Pictured here are the Ardmore players who featured on the West Waterford team; (l-r) Michéal O'Neill, Stuart O'Mahony, John O'Brien and Dyan Reed.

                                              Little and large tussle at Walsh Park last night.

                   The victorious West Waterford U-14 footballers, winners of John O'Regan 2012.

Street Photography

I've always liked to just hang around street events and festivals etc just taking candid shots; I believe people are at their most natural when they are unaware they are being photographed.  No inhibitions at all.  The shot below was taken in July 2009 in Ardmore at the Ardmore Pattern Festival which takes place in late July every year.  The man in the photo is a local, Paddy Murphy, and would be well known in the area..

This years Ardmore Pattern Festival will take place from July 27th-29th.

 One Man and his Dog....looks like they were not on speaking terms when this was taken...
 I have no idea who the man was...

From May 7th , this blog will have plenty of pictorial content embedded as there seems to be a problem with adding external links to my Flickr account...fear not...I will defeat the Gremlins!

This rather decent shot was taken in early 2012 using an iPhone 4, the place in question is Monatrea, Co. Waterford and the sun in the distance is setting over the East Cork village of Ballymacoda. 

The New and Improved Model...

Welcome to the new and improved blog from Gerry O'Mahony, part-time photographer based in Ardmore, co, Waterford.  There will be posts about cameras, there will be posts about photography, there will be posts about places to visit for good snaps and places to avoid unless you want bad shots!

Say Cheeeeese!