Michael O'Connell
@moconnell007
Botanist, palaeoecologist. Research interests: long-term environmental change, local and global; also archaeology, geography, history & a spot of photography
Greatly enjoyed tour today of the #NationalBotanicGardens, #Glasnevin, Dublin led by Gavin Corbett @opwireland.bsky.social. The Gardens are looking splendid - native Irish plants, perennial flower beds, 19C glasshouses, arboretum, etc. Well worth availing of the tour if you are at all leisurely
So sad to learn of death of Prof Yoshinori Yasuda. Yasuda's research and publications, incl. several books, contributed greatly to the study of long-term environmental change & conservation. I had the good fortune to be invited to several conferences that he organised at IRCJS, #Kyoto Photo 2010-12
#GreatSouthWall, #Dublin last evening. This 18th century construct keeps entry to #DublinPort clear of mud. Also an amenity, affording magnificent views & habitats. Large flocks of turnstones wait on the rock armour for tide to recede, terns call loudly as they fish, while guillimots bob about
Hard to believe that WB Yeats was born so long ago (1865); yet his #poetry continues to speak to us as if it were of yesterday. Photos from earlier today in #Sandymount, Dublin, nr the poet's birthplace. Grass burned by heatwave; walnut trees laden with fruit. Happy #BastilleDay to one and all!
Spotted this tall giant bugloss (Echium) in a backyard in the middle of Ranelagh. Growing on the back wall of a shed, it appeared other worldly in the evening sunshine. Probably self-seeded. Meanwhile, in nearbyTerenure, swifts flying high presumably enjoying the exceptional temperature (30+C)
The strand at #Silverstand this pm packed with swimmers taking advantage of the heatwave. Nearby, freshly eroded drumlin face has provided new nesting sites for a substantial #sandmartin population which is busy feeding a new brood
#Salthill this evening at about 5 pm. Crowds enjoying the #heatwave, completely oblivious to the threatening sky out west at the mouth of #GalwayBay. Within 2 hours, the promised thunder and lightning rolled in over Galway Bay and the Burren hills but so far relatively little rain
#Bloomsday2026 was marked this afternoon in #CharlieByrnes bookshop by Prof Brian Arkins @uniofgalway.bsky.social speaking to James Joyce: a political life. Needless to say, Joyce's wife #NoraBarnacle, who was born & grew up in #Galway city, was recalled by the speaker & several in the audience
#Salthill Monday morning In the Bay, Balmoral, a Fred Olsen cruise ship, sits in the calm waters of #GalwayBay with the karstic Burren Hills as a background. On land, students of local schools explore the beach at Grattan Road. All seems in order in these parts @wildatlanticway.bsky.social
#Iceland odyssey comes to an end but the wonderful memories of the past several days live on. 'Sun Voyager' on the northern shore of Reykjavik encapsulates the spirit of the country & its peoples
#Reykjavik has a lot to offer by way of #museums. Aptly named 871±2 Museum should not be missed esp if interested in the early settlement of Iceland (late 9th century onwards) by the Viking world of the time, which very much includes #Ireland as stressed throughout the #museum
Day 6 #IGA #Iceland #geology fieldtrip. Continued east on southern ring road that runs on flat outwash plains between the high ice-capped mountains [Skaftafell Nat Pk /Vatnajökull] & the Atlantic. Spectacular glacial features. A deluge in am; welcome sunshine in pm! Photos from Höfn looking W c. 8pm
Day 5 4/4 Final observation of the day made about 100m from 1908 Hostel in Vik where I stay. Information display & artwork to Svein Pálsson who made many contributions, not least to our understanding of glaciers & how they function
Day 5 3/4 On a whim we set off to find Seljavallalaug, Iceland’s oldest surviving outdoor swimming pool built in 1923. A local hotspring provides warm water. This is hidden in an valley with basaltic columns etc that ends in an impressive cirque. Iceland is full of surprises
Day 5 2/4 A short drive to the east brought us back again to Sólheimajökull the glacier tongue that is rapidly retreating. We were quite certain that, since our visit 24 hours earlier, a major chunk of ice had detached itself from the front
Day 4 3/3 Didn't join my adventurous companions who ventured onto glacier. Instead explored the Black Beach (basalt sand) at Vik. Lots of fulmars nesting on the high cliffs that form the background to Vik
Day 4 2/3. Dyrhólaey Lighthouse on a hill to W of Vik offers splendid views of coastal plain to west. Nearby Reynisfjara beach & headland with sea cave & profusion of basalt columns. Deserves much closer attention on another day in kinder weather
Gullfoss (golden falls) beyond impressive as regards setting (glacial river as it cuts through the bedrock), & volume of water & the thunderous sound as descends over two stages
Thingvellir National Park Visitor Centre with Rift Valley of #Iceland, seat of ancient Parliament (Alþingi) & site of earliest church, & high biodiversity. Sun, great visibility & excellent guidance all helped to make it a memorable day exploring the natural & others wonders of Iceland
At beginning of my second day in #Iceland. The summer sun does not go to bed here ....
Today 1. time in #Iceland; so far it has certainly lived up to its billing. Photos from Reykjanes, SW tip of Iceland. Excellent company, guidance & weather #IGA Irish Geol Ass @belfastgeolsoc.bsky.social @galway-geol-ass.bsky.social @geolsurvie.bsky.social
Summer has reached #GalwayBay, western Ireland & @wildatlanticway.bsky.social. Photos from a few hours ago at An Spidéal (Spiddal), Connemara; almost high summer!
Largely hidden #EastClare has much to offer. Mares being exercised on an elevated road (bog on either side cut away); nearby boithrín with furse & willow crosses the bog; sheep on green pasture; ancient 'Brian Boru' oak tree nr #Tuamgraney, living testimony to the ancient character of the landscape