The Costello Memorial Chapel is the smallest chapel in Europe and the 2nd smallest chapel in the world.

It was built in Carrick on Shannon, County Leitrim, Ireland in the 19th century by Edward Costello, a rich merchant, as a memorial and burial vault for his wife, Josephine who died two years previously
 

It is sixteen feet long, 12 feet wide and 30 feet high. Each side of the aisle holds a coffin lined with lead and covered with slabs of thick reinforced glass. The remains of Josephine (1889) and of Edwards who died in 1891 are both interred in this beautiful memorial.

I stopped by a few weekends ago and got this photograph to share with you, so next time your in County Leitrim watch out for it, if you blink you might miss it!!

Noah may have had some problems with the woodpecker on the ark in the photograph above, but I don’t have any problems with the Great Spotted Woodpecker in Ireland, it is good to hear of  a species turning up on our little Island and making it home for themselves. This week on the news I heard that the Great Spotted Woodpecker has started to breed in Ireland. Before this only a few of these birds were spotted in Ireland and now they have been spotted in more locations in Ireland and seem to be staying for longer periods of time possibly to breed. They can be heard drumming (tapping at the wood) in woodlands in the spring time. Hopefully they are here to stay! For more information visit the BirdWatch Ireland Website where you can find out about the Great Spotted Woodpecker and all our birds here in Ireland.

{Bird Watch Ireland}

Here are a few photographs of Ardagh Village located in the midlands in County Longford. It is very quaint and has some beautiful architecture with lots of character.  It really is a pretty village for a Sunday drive. There is an old white washed hair salon with pretty red door and ironwork gate, a unique clock tower in the centre of the village along with lots of other quaint features, a fair green, two churches and an old convent.

 

 

 

On my Sunday drive a few weeks ago I came across these quaint buildings, hope you like them. I love going exploring of a Sunday, just taking in the scenery, landscape and our wonderful natural and built heritage. Always have the camera with me too to capture the moments 🙂

 

‘Twenty Ten-Plant again’ is the theme for National Tree Week here in Ireland from the 7th-13th March. National Tree Week is about encouraging individuals and communities to plant trees. Some local authorities are giving away free trees to community groups in their county which are sponspored by Coillte. It is all about raising awareness about trees and the importance of trees. Over 300 events will take place across Ireland. For more information visit The Tree Council of Ireland website.

     

An Irish Sky taken outside the door of my house this week.   I love to take photographs of the sky, hope you enjoy!

Today was a lovely sunny Spring day but it was very cold. We went for a walk in the woods, there is not much signs of Spring yet but the sun began to shine through the canopy of trees and the forest floor looked like it came alive.  The last photograph is of a puddle which was frozen over with ice, look at the lovely designs as a result of  the ice melting and re-freezing again and again. Hope you enjoy the photographs of my walk in the woods. Our natural heritage is very important to us and we should all get out and appreciate it more when we have time!

   

   

   

    

    

This week another small part of our archaeological heritage was discovered in Ballylongford County Kerry when a couple found a bronze brooch in the ashes in their solid fuel cooker. The ashes were from some turf from a nearlybog. Archaeologists believe the brooch would have been fastened to the cloak of a clergyman and was probably dropped on a forest road in north Kerry which eventually became bog land. The brooch is embossed with a cross and dates to the early Christian times in Kerry some 1,400 years ago. The brooch will go on display in Kerry County Museum in a few months time.

{Irish Times}

To find out more about some of  the built heritage of Ireland why not visit the  Buildings of Ireland Website of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH). The NIAH is a section within the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The NIAH  identifies and records the architectural heritage of Ireland, from 1700 to the present day.