Michael O'Connell

Meanwhile, at the O'Connell Monument, The Liberator looked down on yet another demo on behalf of a cause that is in danger of being forgotten about in a world goes from crisis to crisis

These are my days for gadding about. Today at #ECBL #EnnisBookClubFestival. Hugo Hamilton on Conversation with the Sea discussed his work with Éilís Ní Dhuibhne. It relates to Achill / Germany / the human condition & yet highly relevant to our troubled times. Looking forward greatly to reading

Macgillycuddy's Reeks incl. Carrantoohil from the Beara peninsula & c. an hour later from Moll's Gap. Sprinkling of snow on the peaks of #Kerry / #Killarney while sunny & warm on the lowlands. Little tourist traffic; lovely to have the Kingdom to myself for the day

Allihies once a busy copper mining town 19th century ; now a colourful town at the tip of Beara on the Wild Atlantic Way

Another great day in SW Ireland. On the tip of the #Beara peninsula. Stunning views incl. Dursey with sea-stacks Calf & Bull, & the Sceiligs [Michael & Little] rising majestic out of the Atlantic. Thanks to #Castletownbere Historical Society for the kind invite to these unique parts of #Ireland

Was in the Kingdom yesterday [Bridia valley, west of Macgillycuddy's Reeks]. Plenty of sheep, a Kerry pony, & hares & deer but much too fast to photo. Bird song everyplace - spring has definitely arrived

Fine crowd at the opening of exhibition 'usual and generous ways' curated by poet Padraig Regan. Padraig & Megs Morley (Director) set the scene last evening in the #GalwayArtsCentre in the heart of #Galway. Exhibits relate mainly to 'deep past' [geology] & recent [discovery & records of that past]

Dr Edel Bhreathnach launches The Celtic World - A History [Publisher: Four Courts Press, Dublin] BY Professor John Waddell in Charlie Byrne's Bookshop, Galway. [19th Feb. 2026; M O'Connell]

'The Celtic World - a History' by Prof. em. John Waddell @uniofgalway.bsky.social launched by Dr Edel Bhreathnach to a full house in #CharlieByrnes bookshop in the heart of Galway. Fine speeches by Edel & John. A joyous occasion www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2026/t...

A zoomed in look at 4 scientists working with the a lava fountain covering the entire background.

A very tall lava fountain with tiny dots (people) near the base. The image is a bit forced perspective and we are not as close as it looks

Someone captured my colleagues an I servicing the cameras during Kīlauea’s episode 42. We stopped to discuss what we were seeing, but because I talk with my hands it looks like I’m fixing to push someone in…

Credit: Volcano Hideaways

View towards Quad (1845; first students 1849)

North central door of Quad, University of Galway (15 Feb 2026; M. O'Connell)

Ryan Institute (view from near main entrance to the University of Galway campus (15 Feb 2026; M. O'Connell)

Menlo Castle (ruin) on River Corrib. Fishermen return from L. Corrib; a winter feel still hangs in the air but not without its own charms! View from near sports fields, University of Galway (15 Feb 2026; M. O'Connell)

Signs of spring @universityofgalway.bsky.social, River Corrib-side campus, #Galway city, yesterday

This drawing of an approaching storm (around 1913) shows Paul Henry's consumate skill with charcoal, the location is likely to be the village of Dugort on the island of Achill on the west coast of Ireland.

Greatly looking forward to this @galway-geol-ass.bsky.social lecture on Tuesday 7pm. Much new data relating to the soils and sediments, especially of western Ireland, will be presented

Photo by G. Solecki/A. Piętak of a small figurine of a bear carved out of amber between 9600 and 4100 BC. The amber is a deep translucent orange. The display lighting makes it glow in places. The bear's head is carved to show ears, mouth, nostrils and eyes. A hole runs through the bear’s torso, suggesting it was threaded onto a cord. Dimensions: Length 10.2 cm, Height 4.2 It was discovered in Słupsk during peat mining in 1887. According to the museum catalogue ‘’Shortly after its discovery, the figure underwent conservation work to restore its original appearance as it was covered with a layer of dull patina from the exposure to the minerals contained in the peat. Already at that time, at the end of the 19th century, it was assumed the restoration had gone too far. The figure was stripped entirely of patina, the anatomical features of the animal were emphasised, the eyes and nostrils were sharply drawn, and the amber was carefully polished”. In 2013, a competition was organised by the Education Department of the National Museum in Szczecin, for children to choose a name for the bear. The winning name was ‘Słupcio’,

A little bear figurine carved out of amber some 6,000 years ago 🐻❤️

A hole runs through the bear’s torso suggesting it was threaded on a cord, perhaps worn or carried as a protective charm.

Found in a peat bog near Słupsk, Poland, in 1887.

📷 National Museum in Szczecin

#FindsFriday
#Archaeology

The N59 leads to Leenane and Killary Fjord, looking respendent on Saturday, bathed in the low mid-day sun. The historic Leenane Hotel, recently extended & renovated, nestles among trees on the southern side of the inner fjord.

Travelled N59 Westport to Leenane on Saturday morning (31st Jan) on way to Galway. I had forgotten what a wonderful route it is. Photos from towards the southern end: sheep grazing on blanket bog & beyond wood pasture; Mweelrea with its enormous cirque towering to the west. A true kaleidoscope!

This elaborate, stave-built bucket was discovered in a peat bog in Derreen, Co Clare. Made from yew wood and ornamented with three bronze hoops, it dates from the 8th/9th century AD.
irisharchaeology.ie/2013/03/the-...

Ahead of tomorrow's inevitable
deluge of social media imboloxology, this, by @elvabjohnston.bsky.social is the most significant piece of relevant scholarship in years. Do yourself a favour...

muse.jhu.edu/pub/423/arti...

Today, St Brigid’s Day, marks three years since Ireland’s first public holiday named after a woman. It’s a chance to celebrate the vital role women play in Irish culture and history.

Discover St Brigid's story on the @dib.ie https://www.dib.ie/biography/brigit-brighid-brid-bride-bridget-a0961.

Approaching the pilgrimage site at Mám Éan from the south (Recess side). Limestone statue of St Patrick in front of a small stone structures with 'St Patrick's bed' in between (hidden by the structures) 1/02/20026; MO'C

Approaching the pilgrimage site at Mám Éan from the north (Maam/Corr side). The site nicely lit by the low winter sun. 1/02/2026; MO'C

The pass at Mám Éan. At the middle distance, at the base of the mountain, is a small tarn (mountain lake) the mud / sediment from which yielded a full post-glacial history (last 12,000 years) of the local area. 1/02/2026; MO'C

View to the SW from Mám Éan, across the bogs of Connemara towards Cashel hill; beyond the Atlantic Ocean. Evening, 1/02/2026; MO'C

Today Lá Fhéile Bhríde, we celebrate St #Bridget, whose feast day marks the beginning of spring in olden #Celtic times. Weatherwise, it was certainly spring (almost summer) in #Connemara today. Climbered to Mám Éan, a pass in the Maumturks. Here St Patrick is reputed to have spent a night

Booleying in Ireland. A study of an ancient farming tradition in Achill, County Mayo BY Theresa McDonald Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2025 ISBN 1036447448, 9781036447441 331 pp; 10 Chapters + bibliography & index No. of illustrations: 116 – line drawings, photos incl. ‘old photographs’ cf. Lawrence Collection, archaeological drawings, graphs. Recent colour photographs No. of tables: 6 Front cover illustration: 'A Home in Achill’ 1905. Francis Sylvester Walker’s late nineteenth century watercolour of a booley house somewhere on Achill Island (© National Library of Ireland, 62911)

Dr Theresa McDonald (author of: Booleying in Ireland. A study of an ancient farming tradition in Achill, County Mayo) Dr Kieran O’Conor (PhD supervisor; Archaeology, University of Galway) Professor Jim McAdam (editor of the volume; emeritus Queen’s University Belfast) Professor Michael O’Connell (launched the volume; emeritus University of Galway) Location: National Museum of Ireland, Country Life at Turlough, Castlebar, Co. Mayo

Pleased to do honours at launch of ‘Booleying in Ireland’ by Theresa McDonald. Anything you will ever wish to know re. #booleying #transhumance in Achill & beyond is here. Fruits of years of interdisciplinary research @universityofgalway.bsky.social @globalgalway.bsky.social @nmireland.bsky.social

I didn’t expect to be posting about Stonehenge now but a new paper with yet more against the case for Salisbury Plain glaciers has been published. It prompted me to look at a discussion about sarsen last year which I missed. So here’s a thread about Stonehenge megalith sources /1

Photos taken 22.50+ h at the Beach at Grattan Rd., Salthill, Galway, looking SE over Galway Bay towards Marree & SE Burren. Michael O'Connell; 2026-01-19

#Aurora borealis over #Galway Bay about 1 h ago. To naked eye it appeared as a light grey cloud with an ethereal feel. The camera saw it rather differently. @bgs.ac.uk says it is caused by geomagnetic storm caused by arrival of a coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on 18th January!

Great looking forward to #GGA lecture by Bernd Zolischka on Thursday 7pm. The Eifel volcanic field is spectacular; easily reached but also easily missed (nr Andernach on Rhine). Ash (#tephra) deposits from Laachersee eruption ca. 12900 y ago spread far & wide; local deposits an impressive sight

Dysart O'Dea, in mid Co. Clare, a treasure-house. A substantial medieval church with superb doorway featuring finely scuptured human & animal faces, a round tower (upper part destroyed), a tall High Cross, & a well-preserved tower house. The sites beautifully illuminated by a low winter sun

These 3 photos from road that goes from Kilnamore to Dysart O'Dea, near Magowna Towerhouse (largely hidden by trees & scrub (photos: M. O'Connell; 3 Jan 2026)

Dysart O'Dea countryside. View towards Mullach Mór & S Burren uplands. O'Dea towerhouse at centre of photo (M. O'Connell; 3 Jan 2026)

Mid-Clare Way, immediately S of #Burren, weaves its way through rolling fields of pasture. Woodland copses, mature trees in hedgerows & scrub provide high diversity of habitat. A most attractive walk-way in the middle of the Banner County (next post Dysart O'Dea, end point of this New Year walk)

Graphical Abstract summarising the publication O’Connell, Michael and Wolters, Steffen. 2025. Holocene flora, vegetation and land-use changes on Dingle peninsula, Ireland, as reflected in pollen analytical, archaeological and historical records. Diversity, 17, 456. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17070456

More than pleased that our recent #OA paper on Flora, Vegetation and Land-Use Changes on Dingle Peninsula, Ireland, appears in “Editor’s Choice Articles” www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17...
As well as tracing vegetation & land-use history, it has new information on filmy fern spores, Arbutus & buckwheat

#Sunset this evening from historic Burrane graveyard, Co Clare, where Colleen Bawn is buried in grave of ancestor Peter O'Connell, compiler of early Irish dictionary. In foreground, Shannon estuary, beyond Kerry incl. Mount Brandon on Dingle peninsula & Atlantic Ocean @wildatlanticway.bsky.social

Happy New Year! At midnight on Hogmanay, the Watch Stone will move from its position guarding the approach to the Ness of Brodgar to take a drink from Stenness loch. (Or so it is said!) Wishing you all a wonderful 2026, filled with folklore, fun and many a hike to an ancient site 💚🪨🎉

A December sunset on Galway Bay.
Happy Christmas 🎄

Remarkable!

Spectacular folding in Carboniferous limestone & shale strata in beautiful Loughshinny. Photos by Emer, December 31, 2025

Aithbhliain for shéan is fé mhaise daoibh uile. Happy New Year
Earlier today in Loughshinny, nr. Skerries, Co. Dublin