Gougane Barra is effectively my back garden, and it's also my office as that's where I run my Cork-based workshops.
Always beautiful, every once and a while you're treated to something really special, which is what happened on this beautiful October morning.

Clogher Strand is one of the more spectacular beaches in Ireland and is renowned for its pounding surf in westerly storms. Inis Tuaisceart (An Fear Marbh) is visible through the channel.

An Tiaracht is an island of many names. Also known as Inishtearaght, The Tearaght and Tearaght Island, all these names mean the same thing - 'The Westerly', or 'Westerly Island'. This is a pretty good description, as not only is it the westernmost of the Blasket Islands, it's also pretty much the westernmost point of Europe, with the exception of the nearby Foze Rocks.
In my opinion, the lighthouse on the island, which was constructed in 1870 and made automatic in 1988, is the most dramatic of any of the lighthouses around the coast. It's also one of the least well known as it's invisible from the mainland - sitting as it does on the western end of the rock.
The island is a pair of jagged, steep-sided pyramids reaching a maximum height of 656 feet above the sea. Joining them is a saddle pierced by a natural tunnel. The light itself is at a height of 275 feet on top of a 55 foot tower.
This image was made during a maintenance flight out to the lighthouse, but due to the stormy conditions we were unable to land. However, it did provide me an opportunity to photograph the island as it was pounded by an angry sea.

The Colleen Bawn Rock is one of the scenic highlights of the Killarney National Park. This image, with Torc Mountain on the left, was made at sunrise on a late spring morning. It was an unpromising start at 4.30am when I woke up, but the clouds broke up to give the dramatic sky you see in the photograph.

Carrigaphooca Castle (Caisleán Carraig a' Phúca - The Castle of the Fairy Rock) is a magnificent 15th century tower house on the banks of the Sullane River near Macroom. The castle is reportedly haunted and is a frequent stop for ghost hunters.
Photographed here on a frosty winter's morning, the rising sun illuminates the castle's east wall. No sign of the pooka was in evidence this morning! Or perhaps it was in a good mood and allowed me this great light.

The Colleen Bawn Rock is one of the scenic highlights of the Killarney National Park. This image, with Torc Mountain on the left, was made at sunrise on a late spring morning. It was an unpromising start at 4.30am when I woke up, but the clouds broke up to give the dramatic sky you see in the photograph.

On December 21, 2010 there was a total lunar eclipse which was visible from Ireland as the moon was setting just before sunrise.
That December was a brutally cold one in Ireland with virtually the entire country covered in snow - a rare occurrence. Braving the -15 degree (centigrade) temperatures I made this exposure from the driveway of our house. It pays to live in an area of natural beauty!

In it, the eclipse is nearing totality with only a small sliver of the moon in sunlight. The rest is a red colour as it has passed into the shadow of the earth.

The Macgillycuddy's Reeks are Irelands tallest mountains and form a jagged horseshoe ridge about the Hag's Glen. Seen here from the shore of Lough Callee, the eastern section of the Reeks is crowned by a rainbow at sunset.
The leftmost peak is Cruach Mhór, followed by Knocknapeasta, Maolán Buí and Cnoc an Chuillinn on the right hand side.
This was one of the best evenings I've seen in the Hag's Glen and to see a rainbow at sunset was a real treat.

This was one of the finest sunrises I've ever experienced. The combination of clear skies in the northeast and low cloud and fog on the mountain allowed this dramatic composition including the sun, filtered through layers of mist.

Made on the evening of March 7th, 2011, this image shows the International Space Station and the shuttle Discovery flying over the hills of Gougane Barra.
Just a couple of hours before, Discovery had undocked from the ISS to return to Earth for the last time. Discovery was leading the ISS in its orbit, so both took the same path across the sky and appear as a single trail. However, at the left side of the image, you can see the fainter trail that is the shuttle by itself - the ISS ended its track in this photograph where the line brightens again.
The orange-red light in the bottom center of the picture are the lights in the Gougane Barra valley.

The moon rises above the flooded Gearagh near Macroom in Cork.