I have posted about Dublin’s Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary before; it sits now beside modern buildings along the south quays on the city’s River Liffey.

Known as the Dockers’ Church it was built in 1863, opened in 1864 and became a parish church in 1908; its quayside position on the busy River Liffey meant that many of the dockworkers frequented the masses held there and today it has a strong congregation of old and new with many of the new arrivals working in Ireland’s tech sector now attending on a regular basis.

Those new buildings, including the one seen here just beside the church, a workplace for some of the new workers in Ireland’s services industry have contributed to some ill-feeling on account of size, shading and overshadowing the church.

As a result, due to local protests, in 2018 the developer of many of these buildings contributed over €3 million to a fund to repair and restore the church and its surroundings. The City Quay school (jigsaw building) received €1 million and the remainder went to the church.

After some works to the front, most of the €2 million has been transferred to the Archdiocese of Dublin; the Archbishop of Dublin is the parish priest of the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Currently the interior of the church is in bad condition with damp, mould, decay and in much need of repair, but the parish can’t now use the funds it received from the developers.

The exterior view, seen here with reflections in the calm River Liffey at night, is much more pleasant than the peeling-paint interior.

It’s a story that will continue to provide interest, to someone at least.

Dublin's Docklands underwent significant, almost complete redevelopment in the 2000s with the biggest names in the tech industry still building and locating in the area today.

Here in Grand Canal Square the public realm was designed by landscape architect Martha Schwartz and the choice of red paving blocks and these tall red glow sticks were designed deliberately to give a red carpet effect coming from Daniel Libeskind's 2,000-seater theatre.

On the right is the distinctive chequered pattern of the Anantara The Marker Hotel.

This is now a good-looking part of the city and the redevelopment has brought a lot of life into the area that was run down for many decades at the end of the 20th century.

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Dublin's Custom House is no stranger to the pages of Panoramic Ireland, the iconic structure was finished in 1791 and has been probably Dublin's most recognisable building ever since.

Architect James Gandon designed and oversaw the construction of the Custom House, literally the place where taxes or customs were paid on good coming in to and out of Dublin.

Built with Portland stone, a fine white limestone from the south of England, the Custom House exuded a strong sense of authority over the merchants in Dublin yet the location was obsolete by the time it was finished as the main port operations had moved much further downstream to accommodate larger ships of the late 18th and early 19th century.

The Custom House is seen here with half reflections on a calm River Liffey affected by a little wind.

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On a recent post here on panoramicireland.com I wrote about the necessity of patience in landscape photography.

I also mentioned that on most occasions here in Ireland, the weather does clear up and allow us to capture spectacular scenes under amazing light.

But sometimes the weather does set in and on those occasions there are alternative things to do and photograph on a photography tour.

Here is one such place, the famous Long Room Library in Dublin's Trinity College. I have photographed here on many occasions, including for Ritz-Carlton and produced this 360-degree panorama of the book repository that inspired the makers of Star Wars. Here is the link: Long Room Library Virtual Tour

So on those days that don't go to plan, we always keep options in mind. 

To join me on a photography tour in Dublin, the Long Room Library or anywhere else in Ireland - see here.

I found this old stone bridge recently, having photographed the valley in which it sits I climbed down off the road, slipping most of the way on the steep incline that was boggy and wet.

Thankfully the ground was soft.

Looking up into those vaulted ceilings and bookshelves that fill two floors of the Long Room Library, that's as much as I could do on today's return to the iconic book repository. The busy tourist site was full of people, mostly international visitors so photographing at ground level was impossible, except for views into the bookcases - more of those in another post. It made me think of a previous visit, outlined below - a commission that required me to photograph without people.

Here is one image from the visit, it's similar to those that I created from a commission for Ritz-Carlton Hotels and I'm sure you will have seen my 360-degree panorama or photosphere of this famous building, one of the world's most beautiful libraries - have a look here for the uncrowded view.

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One of the southwest of Ireland's most iconic buildings, Ross Castle is a tower house or fortified dwelling dating from the late 1400s and is typical of the architecture of the period - wealthy and powerful families lived in such defensive structures.

Seen here after sunset as the blue hour approaches, clouds race across the sky and the waters of the river run calm to give a good, but not perfect, reflection with its bright artificial lights.