Category: Stone

Entering Holy Ground

by irishvisions

Story
In this image of the holy grounds of Glendalough, the sun is setting. The cemetery and abbey ruins are suffused with the sun’s waning rays. Helen O’Malley was conscious of using natural light. She would often wait to photograph a subject at a later time if the sun would then provide better illumination.
Location
Glendalough, Co. Wicklow
Date
1975
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Convergence/Divergence

by irishvisions

Story
Glendalough is one of Ireland’s most revered religious sites. St. Kevin founded a monastery here in the sixth century. It features a ninth century round tower built to protect the monks from invading Vikings. This image captures the juncture of two vastly different sets of steps.
Location
Glendalough Monastery, Co. Wicklow
Date
1975
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Rural Altar

by irishvisions

Story
During the time of the 18th century Penal Laws, the British administration forbade Irish Catholics from the Irish people would assemble in a well-protected rural area to hold their religious services. Posted lookouts would warn of approaching police. This stone altar is typical of those used during that era. The large slab of rock might be from an ancient dolmen. The white quartz stone is also a symbol of pre-Christian practices marking a sacred spot.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Cloister Honor Guard

by irishvisions

Story
Helen and Ernie O’Malley visited the late-12thcentury Cistercian monastery, Jerpoint Abbey, during the late 1930’s. Helen returned in 1975 to photograph its arcade. To achieve this illuminated perspective of the pillared knights, she waited until the sun’s rays provided the right contrast to emphasize the sculptural craftsmanship of these effigies.
Location
Jerpoint Abbey, Co. Kilkenny
Date
1975
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Arched toward the Sky

by irishvisions

Story
The windowless ruins of St Mary’s Collegiate Church in Gowran, Co. Kilkenny, illustrate the elegance of medieval monastic venues. The carefully constructed stone walls and rounded arches give support to the gable ends where these tall elegant windows bring light to the sanctuary’s interior.
Location
Gowran, Co. Kilkenny
Date
1975
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Remains of Castleleaffy

by irishvisions

Story
The ruins of Castleleaffy Castle stand guard over Roscahill inlet near Westport. The remaining walls bear the scars of war, but the gracefully arched interior of the quarters can be clearly seen. In the 16th century, sons of powerful Irish clan chieftains were fostered out to be educated and trained in the arts of leadership and war. The heirs were entrusted to only the most highly regarded allies. Granuaile sent her son Tibbott to be fostered at Roscahill by Edmund Mac Tibbott, a sub-chieftain of her husband Richard Burke. Burke lived in the barony of Burrishoole near where Helen and Ernie O’Malley later moved and farmed.
Location
Roscahill, Westport, Co. Mayo
Date
1975
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Monuments of Time

by irishvisions

Story
This standing stone, cairn and sacred site may no longer exist. No one has yet been able to identify it. However, the standing stone is atop a cairn that rests above another hallowed site, possibly a holy well. Standing stones are frequently of astro-archaeological significance. They may indicate burial sites, mark ceremonial grounds or even serve as navigational aids.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Standing Stone with Thistle

by irishvisions

Story
This Neolithic standing stone thrusts toward the sky. Such monuments are amongst the many historic, archaeological and sacred sites Helen and Ernie O’Malley documented while traveling throughout Ireland in the late 1930s. Helen lay on the ground to take this shot looking toward the peak of the ancient menhir as a circular trough had been worn around its base by generations of cattle rubbing against it to scratch their hides.
Location
Killala, Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Man of Kilteel

by irishvisions

Story
Kilteel Abbey in Co. Kildare was on Helen and Ernie O’Malley’s list of over 200 Irish archaeological and monastic sites that they eventually documented. After Ernie’s death in 1957, Helen revisited Kilteel and recorded many of the sculptural images she photographed decades beforehand. Parts of the original church arch were found in a local stream and reinstated around 1935. Over the years, Helen took many shots of this elaborately carved head of a kingly bearded man. In subsequent years, the elements have nearly obliterated this beautiful historic carving. Helen and Ernie O’Malley recorded many sites that no longer exist or have suffered over time.
Location
Co. Kildare
Date
1975
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