From a high vantage point in the drumlin country of County Armagh, I spotted a large plume of smoke heading into the atmosphere.

At first I thought it must be an industrial unit on fire, because of the sheer volume; this was no chimney fire.

As I descended to lower ground, I could see that it was coming from the direction of Newry, County Down, so I headed in the direction of the town and followed the dark skies close to main road.

Eventually I found a close place to observe and photograph the inferno.

July 2021 has brought some interesting weather to the island of Ireland with a new record for Northern Ireland set in Armagh at 31.4 degrees Celsius. Unusually for summer, Ireland has had warmer temperatures than neighbouring Britain for much of the month and a 'Tropical Night' was recorded when night-time temperatures didn't drop below 20C.

So far the hottest place has been Armagh with a recorded temperature of 31.4 Celsius on July 22nd 2021.

Known as the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, with both the heads of the Catholic Church and Church of Ireland being based in the city founded by Saint Patrick in 444AD, Armagh sits in a drumlin belt (hills created by the movement of ice across the landscape) that stretches across Ireland from County Down on the Irish Sea to County Mayo on the Atlantic.

Here, overlooking the City of Saints and Scholars, both of Armagh's cathedrals dedicated to the patron saint of Ireland can be seen in the green landscape of the lush Irish summer countryside. In the distance the twin peaks of Sawel and Dart in the Sperrins - a mountain range running through Tyrone and Derry.

Although Saint Patrick's Day has been all but cancelled this year, 2020 due to what we all know now as COVID-19 or the coronavirus, it is still possible to see and enjoy the sights of Ireland.

Today I visited Saint Patrick's Catholic Cathedral in Armagh, Ireland's ecclesiastic capital.

It's a fine structure, rising high on one of Armagh's seven hills and visible from the countryside all around the small city with its 64m high spires projecting off the lofty position opposite Saint Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral.

Begun on Saint Patrick's Day in 1838 after Catholic Emancipation of 1829, the cathedral was designed in the perpendicular gothic style but work stopped after the Famine in 1847.

This is a door that I have photographed often, having featured in my first book Portrait of Armagh.

It is the entrance door to Saint Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh, Ireland's ecclesiastic capital.

The snow that fell during the Beast from the East and Storm Emma was quite surprising, unlike anything in recent years and it added to the character of this area seen here, the flakes so big they almost obliterate the view of the architecture itself.

Join me for a photography tour of Armagh here.

Street photography comes in all styles, shapes and sizes.

Here during the current snow storm to hit Ireland, known as Storm Emma and the Beast from the East, a man shielded by an umbrella walks up the steep, snow-covered Dawson Street in Armagh, Ireland's ecclesiastic capital.

Armagh's Church of Ireland cathedral, dedicated to Saint Patrick, seen here during the snow storm known as Beast from the East and Storm Emma in March 2018.

Join me on one of my photography tours of Ireland as we photograph every subject from street photography to landscapes, snow to sun and food to architecture.

Don't forget the pine martens of course, that's nature and wildlife.

Navan Fort, known in antiquity as Emain Macha is the former royal capital of Ulster - the northern province of Ireland.

Navan Fort is a large man-made circular enclosure that was occupied by the first farmers in Ireland over 4,000 years ago. It is circular and covers approximately 12 acres surrounded by a large bank and ditch and was continuously occupied from 700BC to 100BC with evidence of houses and other structures.

Sometimes I get asked where the background image to my Twitter account is from. 

The answer is that I have photographed donkeys all over Ireland, from the Burren in County Clare to lovely Inistioge in County Kilkenny but this donkey was one that I met on a back road in South Armagh.

Being born and brought up in Ireland one is surrounded by references to the chief of the island's three patron saints, Saint Patrick. Travelling through counties Antrim, Down, Armagh there are references to this mysterious and legendary figure everywhere. The other two patron saints of Ireland are St. Brigid and St. Columba also known as Columcille - but don't get Columba confused with Columbanus.

The unmistakable sight of Slemish sitting lonely just off the Antrim plateau, looking like an upturned basin this mountain is comprised of the central remnant of an extinct volcano from the days when this part of Ireland was the centre of a large volcanic complex.

Slive Gullion Panorama

Slieve Gullion is the highest mountain in County Armagh, Northern Ireland's smallest county. Situated in South Armagh the area is one characterised by rugged beauty.

The original print image is over 70 inches wide at print quality, that's 1.8 metres!