Wicklow is known as the ‘garden of Ireland’ – famous for blooming heather and gorgeous gardens. But what does it look like in winter? We went to the Powerscourt Estate to find out. The 800-year-old Powerscourt House looks fabulous at any time of year, but winter is very special. Looking at these photographs, you can almost [...]

The West of Ireland always looks a million dollars. It can’t get any prettier, we thought. There’s no way the West could look sharper, we said. Then we saw Aoife Herriott’s work. When it rains, she captures a rainbow. When mist forms, she heads for the mountains. When lightning strikes a tree, she treats it [...]

This is a story about a mountain range. A real multitasker of a mountain range in fact. Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, cluster of magical nooks and crannies,  muse to famous writer, and host of festivals and quirky sports. The are different things to different people. But to everyone, they are beautiful to look at. [...]

We’re not a big island. Ireland is roughly 81,000 square kms; about the size of the American State of Indiana, and just bit bigger than Scotland. So how is it that our landscapes are big business, and known for an epic vastness of changing skies, rolling hills and distant peaks? One answer would be Ciaran [...]

You could call Peter McCabe the landscape whisperer. He can coax out of an everyday scene the most evocative compositions. I’m talking clouds almost three-dimensional in their bouffant-ness, seas swelling and splashing against the picture, and sands so full of texture I fear they’ll scratch my screen. Lucky for us, this whisperer can wield a [...]

Before we get into talking about the majestic countryside of County Wicklow it would only be fair to say that having spent my childhood there, I’m a tad biased. Favoritism aside, though, it really is a stunning county and while we’re not sure who it was that first called Wicklow ‘The Garden of Ireland’ we [...]