North Atlantic Skyline » mayo http://johnsmyth.ie/blog Despatches from the West of Ireland. Tue, 22 May 2012 23:44:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 St Patrick’s Church http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2012/03/18/st-patricks-church/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2012/03/18/st-patricks-church/#comments Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:45:41 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3919 The church on Croagh Patrick
The interior of the tiny church on the summit of Croagh Patrick mountain in Co. Mayo , dedicated to St Patrick.

]]> http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2012/03/18/st-patricks-church/feed/ 0 Saint Patrick’s Day http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2012/03/17/saint-patricks-day/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2012/03/17/saint-patricks-day/#comments Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:01:09 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3917 St Patrick at Croagh Patrick
Happy St Patrick’s Day to all. The picture above is of a statue of the saint, at the base of Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo – a place St Patrick probably never visited. It is also my sister’s birthday – guess what my parents christened her ?

]]> http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2012/03/17/saint-patricks-day/feed/ 1 Shipwrecked on Clare Island http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/11/04/shipwrecked-on-clare-island/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/11/04/shipwrecked-on-clare-island/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:37:58 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3747 Shipwreck

An old wrecked boat on a storm beach on Clare Island, off the coast of Co. Mayo.

]]> http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/11/04/shipwrecked-on-clare-island/feed/ 0 Orange Ladybird http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/09/25/orange-ladybird/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/09/25/orange-ladybird/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 22:34:45 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3707 Orange Ladybird

Just a couple of months after seeing stoats for the first time in ages, I spotted another one. He was hurrying across a path as my wife and I were cycling along. It saw us only at the last second, probably because it was more concerned with the dead mouse it was carrying in its mouth. A mouse isn’t very big, but then, neither is a stoat, so it was a big meal for him. Anyway, once he spotted us, he dropped the mouse, ran back from when he came and didn’t reappear again to claim his dinner. Over the weekend, I spotted another creature not often seen (by me, anyway). I spotted this orange ladybird [Halyzia sedecimguttata]  in the shade of a huge old beech tree near Cong in Co. Mayo.

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