Co. Mayo
One of the Irish favourite pub songs is called "The green and red of Mayo," and it provides great advertising for County Mayo all around the island. Its name "Mayo" (pronounce May O), comes from the Irish "Maigh Eo" and has nothing to do with the famous French product from Dijon. Mayo means "plain of the yews". As have most of the counties of the West of Ireland, Co. Mayo has remained "wild". Apart some little towns, such as Ballina, Castlebar and Westport, you will mainly see mountains (including Croagh Patrick!), rivers, lakes and sea cliffs.
Here are some images taken in Achill Island in March 2020, just before the infamous Covid lockdown, with Liam Kidney and other fellows from his advanced class. Conditions were super challenging: it was extremelly windy, sunny for 5 min, then raining for 10-15 min or more. Nonetheless, it was sometimes spectacular from a photographic point of view.
Camera used: Canon EOS 1200D, 18-55/50-250mm, No Flash.
Dramatic landscape in Achill Island
I absolutely love the colours and the drama in the background
Dramatic landscape in Achill Island in the same area
It was fantastic to get a little bit of sun passing through the clouds. The landscape became so dramatic!
Playing with the sunbeam and shadows in Achill Island
I love the colors of that photo and just wish I had had a bit more time to improve the composition. In a matter of seconds, the sun was gone.
Achill Island sheep
Typical scenary of the West of Ireland: The sheep "are" wild, so be careful if you're on the road.
One of Achill Island's beach: Trawmore beach
Dookinella Waterfall in Achill Island
Photo taken near Trawmore Beach
I love the various colours in the photo (Thanks Tom C for the lift!)
Spectacular Achill Waves
Ideally I would have used a tripod to get a sharper high res image, but the wind was extremelly strong that day. It was incredible to see the sunlight crossing through the waves.
Rainbow on Achill Island
Sunset on Achill Island, with the sun striking on Clare Island
A fantastic ending of this journey.