Tag Archives: Youghal

Queen of the Sea Festival, Youghal – 12/7/14

Denis OFlynn-8

The prospect of a fireworks display was enough to lure a group of members to Youghal on the night of 12/7/14. A beautiful balmy evening, the sky at sunset was spectacular and, with the imposing Cruise Liner, Ruby Princess, sailing lazily by the mouth of the bay en-route from Cobh to Dublin, the town looked every inch in holiday mode. As darkness fell, the strains of the Garth Brooks tribute band playing on the quayside drifted across the river Blackwater to Ferrypoint where most of the members had gathered in preparation.

The display was due at 11pm and shortly afterwards, having finished his final song, ‘Garth’ lead the crowd in the countdown. Right on cue and with a full moon as a backdrop, the first rocket headed skywards and over the following eight minutes or so the sky was filled with colour and graphic shapes as the fireworks burst high over the town accompanied by approving cheering choruses from the crowds below. The final, lingering salvo was celebrated with a rousing round of applause and cheers of appreciation and brought to an end another night of memories for young and old alike.

The display was part of the annual Youghal Queen of the Sea festival and for this night, at least, the town had it all: great weather, great music, great craic, great fireworks and the all-too-absent ‘feel-good factor’ – they even managed to get the man the whole country is talking about –  ‘Garth Brooks’ – to add to the atmosphere!

Well done to all involved.

Mouse over the image below to activate the the slideshow controls. Enjoy.

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Shoot at Youghal on 26/1/14

ECCG shoot Youghal-8230With a Code Orange weather warning in place for most of the West and South of the country for Sunday 26/1/14, it was touch and go whether another ECCG shoot would succumb to the wintry weather conditions of 2014 so far. However, following early morning consultations with various weather forecasters it was felt that Youghal might have a chance of a reasonably good day so the shoot was ‘on’.

Seven members turned out at the Walter Raleigh Hotel, Youghal in a windy but dry morning and with high tide due at 12.48pm and a 50kph wind blowing, the sea was already raging against the rocky shoreline – a sure draw for eager photographers.

FOS Youghal. 097-3

Finbarr O’Shea

Following the short walk to the lighthouse, we descended the many steps to the ‘diving rocks’ where it seemed someone had taken the time to construct ideal photography platforms for us and, with the tide surging only feet away, it was a photo-fest indeed.

Having worked our way around to the front strand by 1pm, we regrouped at the Old Imperial Hotel, North Main Street, for lunch which felt well overdue due to the appetite inducing, fresh sea air.

After this welcome break in proceedings it was back to the shoot with a visit to the nearby St. Mary’s Collegiate Church, a national monument of Ireland and which is the oldest church in continuous use since its foundation in Ireland and whose roof timbers have been carbon dated to the year 1170. The extensive graveyard is surrounded by the original town walls, complete with walkways and viewing points and they are thought to be the best preserved medieval town walls in Ireland.

Unfortunately, it was about this time when the weather took a turn for the worst and cut our visit short, but Youghal and the jewel that is St. Mary’s are certainly on the cards for a return visit.

Thanks to Michael Hegarty for his assistance in organising the shoot.

Photos above by Bill Sisk, Finbarr O’Shea, Lorna O’Dwyer, Joseph Keniry and Denis Barry.