George and Mary Mahon at Salthill County Galway
"Two little children bathing in seaside two other figures in distance, town visible in background"..This image is from the Clonbrock (Dillon family) collection, and is dated c.1900, but where did they spend the... More
Milady is the height of fashion!
The title on this Clonbrock image is "Spring 1918. Woman standing in parkland, wearing hat and button through coat." The dress style is so outdated and material looks like winter weight cloth for the chills of... More
"Distant view of pier with lighthouse and houses taken from the sea" i...
Continuing where we left off on Friday (matters maritime) but this time from the wonderful Clonbrock Collection. This view may not be as iconic as the Skelligs, but nonetheless it provides a pleasing vista wit... More
Men, Women, Flying Saucers and a Dog!
To end the week we have a lovely group photograph from the Clonbrock Collection. A group of seated men and standing women, several wearing the famous "flying saucer" hats and a beautiful collie dog! No doubt ... More
Photograph of Photographs! - Public domain portrait photograph
June 25th, 1866. Montage of nine separate images. (girls, young man, possibly two sisters, Clonbrock circle etc.) ..If the date is correct this photo montage is over 150 years old, I am willing to bet that ther... More
Canada - Britain's Granary, Boer War
Ornamental arch spanning wide street. Arch reads "Canada - Britain's Granary, God save our King and Queen". Town on hill visible in distance...We are always happy here to place a pin in the world map outside of... More
Dolan's Daughters. - Public domain scan / print
Portrait of two servant girls, identified as Pat Dolan's daughters, at back of Clonbrock House, Co.Galway...With thanks to contributions from BeachcomberAustralia ( /photos/beachcomberaustralia/ ) , Niall McAu... More
Christmas tree decorated with lights, baubles and crackers. Paintings ...
This fine Christmas tree is a reminder of Christmases past. A big natural tree with objects not as frequently seen on such trees today including tinsel, crackers and candles. From the Clonbrock collection, an... More
Train station Salthill to Switzerland? - Public domain photograph.
"People waiting outside railway station with train and mountain in the background"..To juxtapose our recent Salthill shot, we countered with another shot from the Dillon family holiday album - this time clearly... More
Gráinne Mhaol Castle - A black and white photo of a building near a bo...
Animals grazing near an unusual structure, rectangular in shape with a small balcony on one corner, flat roof and two chimneys. A pier and sea/lake visible in the background...Fair play to you guys for spotting... More
The warmth and charm of an open fire
There is a certain sense of deja vu about this in that we have been in sitting rooms before with a similar clutter of decorations on the walls. A cosy, comfortable, lived in room with lots of books, big chairs... More
Posing in Clonbrock!, Ahascragh, Galway, Ireland
Finishing on Friday with a photograph from the Clonbrock Collection with a lady and three children posing outside the "Photography" house!..We really do not have many facts to report on this photo, it was sugge... More
Irish international exhibition, Herbert Park Pavilion with bandstand a...
A sight none of us will have seen in Herbert Park, Dublin...Thanks to all for the information on the temporary pavilion that was built for the 1907 "Irish International Exhibition". Especially to Niall ( /photo... More
Military column - A crowd of people walking down a street next to tall...
Crowds gathering to watch parade of cavalry. Streets and lamp-posts decorated with flags and bunting...What a great photo and surprisingly the community is undecided as to what exactly is going on, there are a ... More
Old woman and two young boys in doorway of thatched cottage
Today is the day, the Photo Detectives exhibition ( NationalLibraryofIreland/posts/10159391458300038 ) opens at 12.30. I found a to-do-list on the other Marys desk earlier. It read: "Tan / Nails / Hair / Pedic... More
Mostly barefoot, Ahascragh, Galway, Ireland
Miss Crowe and Mr Gildea with their pupils at Kilglass National School, Ahascragh, Co.Galway..Here we are again (unwittingly) at the National School in Kilglass. Sharon found both Mr Gildea and Mr Miss Crowe in... More
Military column - A crowd of people walking down a street next to tall...
Crowds gathering to watch parade of cavalry. Streets and lamp-posts decorated with flags and bunting...What a great photo and surprisingly the community is undecided as to what exactly is going on, there are a ... More
Waiting for the Solar Eclipse, Dublin, Ireland
From the destruction of Dublin on Friday to the Edwardian elegance of the gentry in Clonbrock House. Just two of the group appear even aware that this photograph is being taken but this just adds to the charm ... More
Whose blouse was not washed in OMO?
This somewhat 'different' photograph from the Clonbrock collection is labelled fully as "Bicycle Gymkhana. Women's bicycle fun race. Competitors stopped to drink from cups. Women wearing white blouses and straw... More
Elevated view of buildings in a town, one of the buildings has the sig...
An unusual Clonbrock shot today that I would have guessed was a Lawrence or even part of a Stereo Pair had I not seen the catalogue. There are a few more clues than S. Silk so this may be easier to crack.....A... More
Top Hats and Bowlers at Oldtown, Naas
Photographers: Dillon Family. .We end this week with an image from the Clonbrock Collection. The caption says there are tram lines here but I think their eyes deceive them!..Our summary remained fairly short f... More
Glenart 1903. Tower flying Union Jack set in tropical style gardens. P...
A lovely tropical scene from the Clonbrock Collection that could be in the West Indies as easily as in the west of Ireland. To make things easy for the weekend we give you , not only the date, but the place as... More
Lord Dunlo in garden with stereo camera
Down the 'Wesht' today to the Clonbrock collection with a true "Golden Oldie". Lord Dunlo with a stereo camera in 1864 makes this so interesting for all kinds of reasons. The camera looks quite intriguing and ... More
Posters and restrictions! during World War I
A very unusual and interesting shot from the Dillons of Clonbrock today. A series of posters on a notice board or wall with lots of juicy information regarding the Great War...The catalogue description below i... More
Sir Charles Ball and Jerry, Dublin, Ireland
Subtitled in the catalogue as "old man wearing overcoat patting dog on steps", this tender moment is from the Clonbrock collection. We knew that much of the detail in the description would be changed in short o... More
Pallas Castle or Tower House, Galway, Ireland
[Shane's Castle, 1903] Two women, a man and a dog standing in front of the ruins of Shane's Castle Randals town, Co. Antrim.]..The title in the catalogue was incorrect for this photo as pointed out by Dr O Mac ... More
God bless your eyesight!, Ahascragh, Galway, Ireland
The catalogue description of this lovely Clonbrock image states "Clonbrock House, three women in crinoline dresses seated on portico". Given the size of the house, the distance involved, and without the benefi... More
Church interior showing altar and pews. Script over altar reads "Worsh...
1860-1930 gives us a date window of 70 years and yet there may be nothing in this photo which will allow us to significantly narrow that window? I am confident that we will get the location...In terms of locati... More
Cat on a hot rope leash?
This fine Clonbrock image shows Mary with her menagerie and Edith Dillon with a cat on a leash in one hand and a fine box camera in the other!..With thanks to all of today's contributors, but perhaps sharon.cor... More
9 men in front of ornate door, Trinity College, Dublin
Another from the Clonbrock collection today with a group of men outside a "grand" building with a pair of ornate and formidable doors behind them. ..As usual, sharon.corbet ( /photos/129555378@N07/ ) was very... More
From Ghosties and Ghoulies and Long Legged Beasties...
On this, what was one of the great feast days of the ancient Irish and today is the greatest scare fest of the western world we have a scary shot from the Clonbrock Collection. The actual title in the catalogu... More
I never saw anything like it in my life before! (an early flying machi...
To start us off this week we have an intriguing photograph from the excellent Clonbrock collection. The Catalogue description for this photo is "Group of men observing an object that is out of range of the came... More
Variations on a theme of shooting! - Public domain map
Today we visit the Clonbrock Collection for a shot of Edith Dillon and her husband with a pair of shooting devices. She holds a camera while he holds a pistol and they are gathered beside paper targets fixed t... More
Ghosts of times past in Inistioge
This beautiful image from the Clonbrock Collection is entitled "Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny [Gwynfryn, Woodstock]". The scene appears to have been taken in summer time with some of that rare visitor, the sun, payi... More
"Austria in Ireland" is actually Switzerland
The catalogue title for this image is: "Chapel at Banim?. Small chapel with clock tower Eastern design, with an interesting plaque/ crest over the doorway."..Wherever located, it is certainly unusual looking. W... More
I really wanted a guitar!
Today, 24th December is Christmas Eve and for children all over the world is a day of delicious anticipation and hope. Sometimes the wait is worthwhile and sometimes the gift is not quite what was wanted. The... More
Portrait of two young girls reading
A charming portrait from the Clonbrock Collection to follow Col. R. Burke which was explored yesterday! The Clonbrocks were true amateurs with a great love of photography and they developed great skill in the ... More
God and Empire over all! - Public domain vintage map
It is a while since we visited the Clonbrock collection but today we have a beautiful scene at a market with full and plenty on display. People with goods to sell look well dressed and happy , their produce lo... More
Group of children seated at tables and some kneeling, possibly a child...
We have been to Clonbrock many times before (there are now 20+ images clustered around the estate on the location map). However, we perhaps have not seen such a large group of non-Dillons before. With thanks to... More
Swiss 94 B. Oberland. Three cabinet card portraits on the floor of a w...
It must have been a rainy day in Oberland and somebody who was getting bored began playing around with the camera! Just for the craic can we identify the three people in the cabinet cards?..The general consens... More
"Possibly Crystal Palace" is hall of Irish International Exhibition 19...
The day after Galway win the All Ireland, it seems appropriate that we should at least view an image from the Galway-based photographers of the Clonbrock Collection This amazing shot may be the Crystal Palace ... More
Marking a family's tragedy the gravestone of Jane and Jane Alice Purve...
When deaths in infancy and childbirth were a regular and real threat to the lives of both women and children, families had tragedies all too frequently. Jane and Jane Alice are remembered on this fine obelisk ... More
Pallas Castle or Tower House, Galway, Ireland
[Shane's Castle, 1903] Two women, a man and a dog standing in front of the ruins of Shane's Castle Randals town, Co. Antrim.]..The title in the catalogue was incorrect for this photo as pointed out by Dr O Mac ... More
Stereo view of tennis court with a doubles match taking place, large h...
Apologies for the delay in posting this morning! This image had me fooled, as if I needed it, as I took it to be from the "Stereo Pairs" collection. It is, as you can see, from the Clonbrock Collection and po... More
MAY YOUR DAYS be LONG & HAPPY! postcard
At a time of year when darkness greets the early morning riser, and accompanies the worker home from her/his labours, the greeting above must have been especially provided to cheer us up? While the general loca... More
Town or village with church tower visible in the distance... is Ennisk...
A rare visit to the Clonbrock collection with a beautiful sylvan scene of a town or village and in the background a spire and a pointy (Technical term) mountain. The fencing along the paddock makes me wonder i... More
There's grandeur for ye - Victorian era public domain image
The full title on this image in the catalogue is:-.Coronation. Augusta Dillon leaving porticoed house to enter carriage, surrounded by men in ermine capes and union jacks in background, advertisement in backgro... More
Last one in, Leinster, Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
People in bathing costumes in outdoor swimming pool, pier and ship visible in background...Thanks to sharon.corbet ( /photos/129555378@N07/ ) we know this photo is of the Public baths at Dun Laoghaire, Co Dub... More
Portrait of Lord Alan Spencer-Churchill seated and wearing a striped s...
A portrait of a gentleman in what looks for all the world like a prisoners striped shirt, and which is dated to 151 years ago. Lord Alan Spencer Churchill must surely be connected to the more famous bearers of... More
"Galway by Edward" is actually Warwick Castle, England
From the urban and exotic Turkish Baths in Dublin, to a verdant country scene for todays shot. This image, labelled as possibly being in County Galway, is from the the Clonbrock collection and features a beaut... More
Mostly barefoot, Ahascragh, Galway, Ireland
Miss Crowe and Mr Gildea with their pupils at Kilglass National School, Ahascragh, Co.Galway..Here we are again (unwittingly) at the National School in Kilglass. Sharon found both Mr Gildea and Mr Miss Crowe in... More