Another impressive ruin that my little Ruinhunters visited recently was the impressive Keep of Cullahill Castle in Co. Laois. Having never been here before I was not sure of its suitability for the little ones, and as luck would have it, Cullahill was not the best of ruins to explore with kids. So I kept the exploring at a safe distance, due the amount of rubble and will come back at a later stage to have a good look around.
The Keep which stands on the south-western corner of a large seven-sided Bawn was built around 1425 by Finghin Mac Giolla Phádraig, stands at approx 90 feet in height. This five storey Tower with a wall-walk was built upon solid rock and constructed using roughly coursed Limestone. Most of the north portion of the tower is missing, as is the doorway. Their looks to have been a mural stairway in what is left of the north east corner. Then there is a barrel vault running north to south over the ground floor with evidence of a loft which was accessed from an opening in what was once the north wall. On the first and second floors there is a mural passage along the south wall with chambers to the east and west. Up on the second floor there is what looks to be a large cut limestone fireplace in the east wall. The third floor would seem to have been supported by the thickness of the walls at this height, including the top floor. Up top there is a wall walk and pitched gable on the south wall, with a chimney stack on the east wall. The majority of the opes are plain rectangular.
I had heard that there is a Sheela-na-gig somewhere on the external part of the east wall, but unfortunately I could not find any trace of it. So this will be a high priority to find on my return visit. Looking to the top of the keep you can only imagine what a commanding presence this fortification would have had on the surrounding countryside. The castle came under attack on several occasions by raiders from Kilkenny with the support of the English crown under Henry VI whom sought to destroy this massive keep. Major attacks were recorded in 1441 and 1517, but it was not until the arrival of Cromwell’s forces around 1650 that the castle was finally defeated and reduced to rubble under heavy cannon fire from Parliamentarian forces. By 1657 Cullahill was said to have been uninhabitable. Across the road lies the ruins of a chapel which was once the private chapel of the Catholic lords of Upper Ossory. Do stop by and have a look around this impressive sight if you are in the area, it really is quite stunning despite its ruinous state.
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Love the clouds!
Thank you 🙂
You’re welcome! I have a thing for photographing clouds 😉
We dont often get good skies in Ireland , so you have to make the most of it 🙂
Your photographs are wonderfully distinctive. They can have a timeless beauty. Then you add in children in modern clothing and they still have a timeless beauty. I can’t achieve the first and can’t imagine how you achieve the second. Enchanting pictures. As ever.
Thanks for the kind words Simon, really glad that you enjoyed the images 🙂
superbe ambiance ! les enfants n’ont pas eu peur ? 😉
great atmosphere! children were not scared ? 😉
Merci beaucoup, je suis vraiment content que vous les aimez. Mes enfants ne m’effrayez pas trop facilement 🙂
Fine set, Ed; the kids are a nice contrast.
Thank you, glad you liked them 🙂
Very dramatic! And through the children, you’ve made a connection between past and present. Nice!
Thank you so much Marion,:-)
Wonderful series Ed. I love the second in the series here. Wonderful and rich.
Thanks Dave, glad you liked them 🙂
Love these Ed! The drama and malevolance of the ruinous structure and brooding sky is heightened by the presence of your cute children! A wonderful contrast! I always think you can’t do better… and then you do!
Like the new badge by the way… you should be blogging about this achievement!
I reckon the badge is enough for the moment, got way to much to do at the moment. Between my weekly posts, Ruins, Competitions and im planning some stories for October with a bit of a halloween theme similar to last year. I need to come up with about 31 spooky tales and then hopefully an image to go along. Its going to be mental. 🙂
Yeah, but sounds like a whirlwind of fun too! Dont get too stressed and just enjoy it!
I hope so, last year I did several pieces for the FairytaleTraveller. This year my goal is to do one for each day of October, fingers crossed. This will put my writing to the test as I wont be relying on images to carry the posts.
Cool! Something new! Look forward to it!
LOL, Thank you Ali, I always try, sometimes it works and sometimes it don’t. All part of the fun, to see what you can create 🙂
I love the drama of the shots
Thank you Rajiv 🙂
I like that pub… Too many men!
Utterly breathtaking pictures that conveyed a deeps sense of time and an eerie feeling of mystery. I could almost imagine the mist rolling in and then suddenly time flowing backwards until the stones were newly laid. Really wonderful – you have an amazing talent.
Thank you Jenni, really appreciate that, 🙂
Black and white is superb for the ruins. Great photos, thank you so much for your visit 🙂
These images have a bit of spookiness about them. Nice work.
Thank you Robert, it was a foreboding place, and a bit too dangerous for the kids so we mostly walked around the outskirts. That said my sense of adventure far outweighs my sensibility and I will be making a solo return to explore further. 🙂
Just as I would do 🙂
wonderful and more wonderful with the little sweet things in the foreground!
Thanks Cybele, it wasn’t the safest place for them to explore, so I will be going back to have a better look around 🙂
Reblogged this on Amazing Fine Art.
much mystery!
For sure, I hope to go back and do some in dept exploring, try and unravel some more 🙂
Moody, gorgeous, haunting and powerful. Great work Ed.
Thank you Sherri, glad you liked them 🙂
This reminds me of explores my dad used to take me on; not all of them strictly allowed! Must be great to do things like this with the kids.
LOL thank you, I tend to be greedy and keep the not strictly allowed explorations for myself
Wonderful! I have got to get to Ireland!
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Very dramatic shots, nice work.
Thanks Stevie, glad you like them, it wasn’t to safe for the kids so I hope to ge back and explore further 🙂
Beautiful work. Thank you also for liking my blog Mindfulness in Ho Chi Minh.
Stunning photos – love them! Forgive my ignorance, but what’s a Sheela-na-gig? I’m intrigued.
HI Wayne, The Sheela-na-gig is a Medieval exhibitionist figure that is generally female. The figure is usually depicted holding open the vagina and are generally found at church sites but others have been found at castles. Their meaning is debated but may be a warning of sin to people or some form of fertility charm. 🙂
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