Week 4: From Castles to Coffee Shops, The Mission Continues

Day 22 – Meath

I arrived in County Meath, a place I hadn't spent much time in before, though I had passed through it. When planning this trip, I knew there was one location I had to include: the impressive Trim Castle, which dominates the town. This structure has been here for hundreds of years and was famously used in the 1994 filming of the movie Braveheart. As I was recording, I saw a sign commemorating its use in the film, and I thought how interesting it must have been to see the castle transformed for the movie.

The constant challenge I had been dealing with for the last few counties was the risk of rain. As I’d done before, I pushed through regardless, and today was no different. On my way to Trim, I passed a perfectly placed GAA pitch that, thankfully, was open. I was able to slip in and grab my goal, which felt good to get out of the way. When I arrived in Trim, my wipers were on full blast, so I decided to wait for a while to see if the rain would ease. After about an hour and a half, it did slightly, so I took my chance to walk to my shooting location.

I parked far enough away to ensure I'd get my steps in, though the walk felt much longer in the rain. As I walked along the street, I could see the impressive, foreboding castle to my left. In the field next door, however, were the Trim donkeys, who seemed much friendlier and came up to say hello. I chose to shoot from a well-known vantage point: a bridge on the main road with the river running beneath it, which I thought would work as a good leading line toward the castle. My composition was good, but what I needed was light. Instead, I had continuous rain, which forced me to use the "wipe, shoot, wipe" method to prevent raindrops from ruining my lens. The resulting image, while still nice, lacks depth and is quite flat. Perhaps I will return one day. At least I now had my goal, my walk, and my shot. All that remained was my coffee, which wasn't hard to find. It felt as though I was walking into a sauna after all my walking in the rain. All tasks were completed, and I finished the day with slightly wet clothes and feet.

Day 23 – Dublin

My next county was Dublin. As the country's capital, it has a fair share of locations to choose from. Since I hadn't photographed there often, I wanted to pick a location that represented its importance. While walking through the busy streets, I became even more aware of the significance of the area I was going to photograph, but more on that later.

First, I had a bigger mission. Given that I had scored a goal on a GAA pitch in every county so far, I thought it would be amazing to score my goal in the biggest stadium in the country, Croke Park, with a seating capacity of over 80,000. I battled through Dublin traffic, and even within five minutes of approaching, I still wasn't sure if my mission would be possible. I had tried unsuccessfully for days to reach someone at Croke Park, but they were swamped preparing for the All-Ireland final. Still, I didn't want to give up on my mission, which helped me deal with the vast change in pace from the previous days of driving. Finally, I arrived at Croke Park, parked the van, and walked to reception. A lovely lady there confirmed my suspicions: it wasn't going to be possible. Undeterred, I drove on to find a club called St. Vincent's, a football club, but it would do.

One task was done, with three more to go. The next was coffee, at a place my friend Patrick had recommended called Shoe Lane Coffee, and it was delicious. Parking far enough away allowed me to get my steps in and experience the city's vibrant energy. The streets were alive with people from all walks of life, bustling with the rhythm of everyday Dublin life. My chosen photo location was the Convention Centre on the quays, with the Samuel Beckett Bridge and a hoped-for sunset behind it. It was an idyllic scene, but the clouds had other ideas. I was joined by my friend Anthony Lynch, an accomplished photographer based in Dublin. It was great to hang out, catch up, and take photos together. While the sunset didn't happen, the shot was still nice due to the colors of the lights on the buildings and the bridge.

My Dublin mission was complete. I bid farewell to Anthony, deciding against a stop at the Guinness gates, as it was late and I needed to get back to the tranquility of the beautiful Irish countryside.

Day 24 – Wicklow

My original plan for Wicklow was to go to Glendalough and capture calm water reflections with morning mist and light. As with many of the locations on this trip, that visualization would turn out to be far from the truth. Arriving the night before, under the cover of darkness, I found a place to park up. I checked my weather apps and saw that the morning would not be calm, nor would there be any light.

I needed a Plan B, which came from a suggestion from my friend Bernard: a view of St. Kevin's Church and the round tower at Glendalough, with a river and a small cascade running toward them. It wasn't far from the car park and was a relatively easy shot to get. Sunrise arrived—at least above the clouds—but for me, it was once again flat, windy, and raining. I was glad I had opted for Plan B, as a sunrise at the lake would have been a frustrating experience. The weather did allow me to get an extra hour and a half of sleep, and when I woke up, the clouds had moved on, and some glorious morning sunlight was streaming in. I took the short walk, set up the camera, and after a couple of test shots, I had my photo. It was so nice that I even walked around the grounds to get more than my 1 km in.

Next was to score my goal at an incredible location. The pitch in Laragh, situated in an idyllic setting, checked off the third box for Wicklow. All I really needed now was my coffee, which I had to drive for. The coffee shop was worth it, though, as it looked like something from a movie. Hollywood Café in Wicklow is a beautiful place. As I arrived just as they were opening, I could see the Hollywood sign on the hills behind it. The coffee did not disappoint; it was absolutely delicious. My Wicklow adventure was over; all tasks were complete, and things were going well.

Day 25 – Offaly

From Wicklow, it might seem strange to drive through Kildare to get to Offaly, but there was a logic behind it. My Kildare photo was going to be at a location that had to be shot at sunset to do it justice. This meant I had to juggle things to put my Offaly location during the day. I figured that since the location had opening and closing times, it wouldn't be suitable for a sunrise or sunset shot in July anyway. So, I drove through Kildare, stopped for a coffee and a chat with my friends Bernard and Milo, and scored a goal at Bernard's old GAA club in Kildare, knocking off two tasks for that county early instead of coming back for them later.

When I arrived at my main location in Birr, it was immediately apparent how big the castle is and how much of the town it takes up. I parked a good distance away to ensure I would get my minimum 1 km of walking in. As I walked along the street, the foreboding walls were all I could see on my right. The team there gave me a map to show me where I needed to go for my intended shot. Like other locations in this project, this was new territory for me, so the map was invaluable.

What was once the largest telescope in the world sits in the gardens of Birr. However, I immediately noticed that because it's so large, my original idea for a shot with the castle in the background and the telescope in the foreground wouldn't work. The telescope was simply too big in the frame. I had to opt for another option. I took a wide shot of the scene and then used my telephoto lens to zoom in and focus on only the castle. There were some nice clouds in the sky, which helped bring the image together.

With two tasks complete, two more remained. The first was coffee, which I got from the charming Emma's Café and Deli in the heart of the town. Like many other coffee shops I'd visited, it was full of people chatting and socializing. It was getting warm now, perhaps a hint of summer finally arriving. The outdoor seats were also full of people conversing, reinforcing my decision to only visit local cafés during this project.

All that remained was to score my goal. I hadn't far to go, as I had passed a stadium on my left as I came into the town. It was a simple matter of retracing my steps. I lined up my shot, took it, and nailed it—25 for 25. My mission was complete, and it was time to move on.

Day 26 – Kildare

Since I had already checked off two of my tasks for Kildare earlier that same day, I was able to return with plenty of time to spare. After I had coffee with Milo that morning, he offered his house for me to get a shower and do some editing, which was absolutely amazing. As much as I was enjoying the road trip, being able to sit at a table and edit videos on my laptop in comfort was fantastic. A big thanks to Milo for his hospitality.

Leaving his home with about two hours to spare before sunset, I was able to get to my location early and park far enough away to ensure I would get my steps in. My photo spot was the iconic and often-photographed boathouse in Carton House. I had changed my plans to come here because I needed calm water and a sun setting behind it for the shot to have any impact. As I set up my camera, I was quietly confident. There were great details in the clouds, and it looked like there were gaps on the western horizon.

However, a couple of things struck me right away. First, I realized I couldn't position my tripod as far up the bank as I had thought. Second, a pipe leading into the lake was visible in my shot and would need to be removed. Ironically, after everything I'd been through over the past 27 days, a mobile coffee unit would also be in my shot and would need to be removed. I composed my shot and waited. With each moment, I could see the water getting calmer. The color in the sky was there, but it was nowhere near what I had hoped for. This was one of those moments where the shot I had envisioned in my mind could have actually materialized.

Kildare was done, all tasks were complete, and my streak was continuing for 26 in a row.

Day 27 – Laois

Arriving under the cover of darkness for a sunrise shoot is something I've done many times on this trip, but today was slightly different. The location I had chosen, Dunamaise Rock in the heart of Laois, is normally empty at this hour. However, as I turned the corner, I was greeted by two cars with young people having a bit of fun. I wondered if I should move on and leave them alone. Thankfully, it looked like they were just leaving, or perhaps my presence made them leave. Regardless, I was going to be alone to get some sleep and my sunrise shoot the next morning.

Dunamaise Rock is a Viking and Christian settlement on top of a hill with 360-degree views of the entire county. I knew the ruins would look good in an image, but I needed some light. Opening the curtains before sunrise, I was dismayed to find that the clouds had once again enveloped the area. But as before, undeterred, I pressed on. This was going to be a drone shot. I sent it up in the air, hoping for some mist, but that wasn't to be. The structure itself still looked incredible, with the crops behind it providing great separation. The drone shot was in the bag.

Next, it was on to find a GAA pitch and score my goal. As I drove, I was reminded of years gone by when I would have driven these roads for work, long before the motorways were built. It was nostalgic to drive them again, but I was glad to be doing it at such an early hour with no traffic. My chosen GAA pitch had a robot grass cutter working on the main area, so I needed to leave it be. Instead, I scored my goal on the pitch next to the main one. There was no net, so it wouldn't have mattered if I missed, but I didn't. I still had to chase the ball afterward.

Coffee was next, and I headed to Portlaoise. It was still quite early, so I had to wait for a coffee shop to open. I took the opportunity to walk through the town, as I've done many times before, to see it waking up and to watch the people get into motion. The coffee was exquisite, with a nice touch of actual chocolate flakes on top. I had to spoil myself. That was it; all tasks were complete, and it was only 8:30 in the morning. But there was no resting; it was on to the next location.

Day 28 – Carlow

I was getting back into familiar territory now. The location I knew I wanted to bring viewers to was one I've visited many times over the years: Duckett's Grove, a phenomenal structure that was damaged by fire long ago but still sits surrounded by Carlow's amazing fields and crops. Given that it was July, would I be lucky enough to have some wheat in the fields for my shots? I recorded some nice drone footage of the van as it entered the area, and I did indeed have crops, but I was missing light once again. I considered taking a drone shot, but without light, I didn't feel it would be strong enough. Instead, I opted to park the van and get up close and personal with the structure, allowing it to dominate the entire image. If you're ever in Carlow, I would suggest you visit this location.

Parking up the van and taking my walk around contributed almost to my 1 km goal. I just needed to do some additional walking while I scored my goal. I didn't have long to wait. A GAA pitch was on my path to my coffee location, which had a very quirky name: Cows & Coffee. It's a family-run farm shop business that sells coffee and their own products plus more.. Even in the middle of everything, people and families were sitting and chatting over a hot drink.

And just like that, Carlow was complete, and so was Week 4. My streak was still intact, and I felt I was now on the final stretch of the mission, with just four more counties to go.

The past week has been all about adapting on the go. The weather and a few unexpected setbacks meant my original plans rarely worked out, so I had to change direction quickly and make the most of what I had in front of me. I’ve realised that sticking too rigidly to a plan can sometimes get in the way, and that the best results often come from working with the conditions instead of against them.

It’s also been a reminder of the value of persistence. Whether it was struggling to find a goal pitch in Armagh, dealing with flat light in Meath, or trying to track down a coffee shop in Cavan, every day threw up its own small challenges. Pushing through those moments, rather than letting them stop me, meant I could still tick off all my tasks — and that made each day feel like a win. The project this week has been less about chasing the perfect shot and more about finding a way through whatever the day brought.

Heading into the final four counties, I’ll keep that flexible mindset. Bad weather, closed gates, or a change of plan won’t be enough to stop me. I’ll approach each stop ready to adjust my route or rethink the shot if I need to.

Persistence will be key now. This last stretch is always the toughest, and when I feel like slowing down, I’ll remember how good it felt to push through and finish the job on tougher days earlier in the trip. I’ll also keep making the effort to connect with people along the way — those conversations have been a big source of motivation, and I know they’ll help carry me over the finish line.