Blog Posts - Reading the Signs

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Disaster Chasing

9/3/2026

St Michael's Cemetery, Blackrock

Yesterday, I went looking for one disaster – and found three.

Recently, I had read of an annual ceremony at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Blackrock to commemorate the Air India crash in 1985.

Initially, I was looking for a black headstone with white posts with greenery behind. When I eventually found it I realise I had walked past but as the white posts were on the grave behind, I missed it.

Interpolating the photograph from The Echo with the high point of the mono-pitch roof and the adjacent utility pole, I did manage to locate the grave of Annu and Reena Alexander but not before I encountered victims of the Buttevant Train Crash and the Tusker Rock Air Crash.

Welcome To the Future

8/3/2026

It is over twelve years since I did a blog post on the memorial that reads:

‘For Our Two Friends
Who Went To The Future
On The 15th April 2000’

Today, in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Blackrock, it was the expression that first caught my attention – ‘Welcome To the Future’.

I had spotted the family name of Feehily but when I saw that the first name was Dominic, the internal smile got so wide.

It is good to get a reminder that this is not a trial run and to get busy living…..

GUNS

7/3/2026

Wexford Town

It is a scene that has often appeared on television and cinema – a man walks into a shop and purchases a gun.

The conversation is generally with an American twang.

I expect that the next time such a scene appears on the screen, I will be imagining it in a Wexford accent.

MALACKEY or MALACHY?

6/3/2026

ALSO HIS PARENTS MALACKEY & KATE DORAN

Dysartgallen on a rare sunny Spring afternoon was a very pleasant visit. I actually arrived somewhat in error.

The Wart Stone had made in onto my TO VISIT list some time ago – not realising that the well and rag tree that I spotted and photographed last August was actually the Wart Stone.

The online map brought me to the cemetery rather than the well which was passed on the way. One of the first headstones that I spotted last Tuesday was that to the Doran family – Patrick and his parents.

‘Malackey’ was a new spelling to me. ‘Malachy’ would have been the spelling that I would have encountered previously. Maybe I may have seen ‘Malachi’ but am fairly certain that this is the first time I have encountered a ‘Malackey’.

Both his marriage record and his death record have his name as ‘Malachy’ – not ‘Malackey’. On Patrick’s birth cert from 1890, his name is also ‘Malachy’ but instead of a signature, an ‘x’ is his amrk – possibly indicating he did not write and so may not have been overly concerned with my ‘Malackey’ ‘Malachy’ ramblings.

Q. When is a Road not a Road? A. When it’s for Ships.

5/3/2026

It was a few years back when I spotted this streetsign in Wexford town.

‘Bóthar’ has been my default word in Irish for ‘Road’. I posted previously about Boher Road being translated as ‘Slí Bothair’. My preference would have been for ‘Bóthar Bóthair.’

A catch-up on the long overdue task of foldering my photographs brought me back to Roches Road.

Teanglann advises that ‘ród’ translates as ‘roadstead’ – sheltered stretches of water where it is possible to safely drop anchor. ‘Roadstead’ is sometimes shortened to ‘road’. So the use of ‘ród’ is nautical.

Unlike many streets in Cork, based upon my perception of its height above the quayside, I doubt that Roches Road was reclaimed from the harbour and so does not qualify as a ‘ród’

At least I have a topic for discussion if I ever meet a Wexford-head on a high stool during this Seachtain na Gaeilge – and then we can deliberate on how an Irish week lasts 17 days……

Cork Shitty Council

4/3/2026

There are very many issues I have with Cork City Council. Most relate to their failure to comply with their own regulations, obligations and procedures including:

Facilitating ongoing deterioration of the buildings and streetscapes without enforcement of the Derelict Sites regulations
Parking enforcement
My perception of the selective application of the Development Plan to planning applications (possibly similar to others who have made submissions which do not appear to affect the decision making process)
The failure to clear road gullies – now conveniently buck-passed to irish water although the work still carried out by City Council staff.

More than once, I have used the Cork City Council online submissions portal

It has resulted in some failures but, unlike this sticker it has also resulted in some success.

I am a strong believer than constructive criticism always beats negative criticism – especially negative anonymous criticism.

Cool Runnings

3/3/2026

Amsterdam - June 2018

It is definitely well up there as the best name for an air conditioning or refigeration company.

To these eyes and this strange mind – absolutely brilliant.

It may be limited to those of a certain vintage …..

Feel the Rhythm. Feel the Rhyme. Get on Up. It’s Bobsled Time. Cool Runnings…

Cork Time

2/3/2026

Cork Yields to Dublin and then London

Wikipedia advises that upto 1860 (or 1856) the legal time at any place in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was defined as local mean time. In 1880, all of Ireland adopted Dublin Mean Time which was 25 minutes and 21 seconds after Greenwich Mean Time.

From October 1916, all of Ireland came under Greenwich.

I wonder if a decision was now put to the residents of the People’s Republic to dispense with Cork Time and adopt Dublin Time or London Time, how it would go.

Der Costumers – What is your best guess?

1/3/2026

It is not Dermot with an un common surname.

Der is not a translation of the definite article so Der Costumers is not a German fancy dress outlet.

It is just phonetics … of sorts

‘…true our Love Story facebook page’ 2017.09.30

1939 – A Leap Year??

23/2/2026

St Gobnait's Cemetery, Mallow - 2026.02.12

The date did not register when I was strolling around St Gobnait’s Cemetery in Mallow two weeks ago. It surely did when I was looking through the photographs.

This headstone has now gone on my list of Engraving Issues/Corrections as Irish Genealogy has a copy of the death certificate which records the year of death as 1936 – the year of the Berlin Olympics and so a year that had a 29th February.

Mrs. Doyle

22/2/2026

St Patrick's Cemetery, Rathvilly - 2026.02.17

Some stone carving spellings are easier to spot than others

The Major Effect

21/2/2026

How many ’F’s are on the back of a box of Major?

Image from Ebay

Many years before the government health warnings and standardised tobacco branding with the graphic images, this was a question often asked. It was asked of me on the way home from school.

The vast majority of people answer ‘2’.

In two separate cemeteries over the past few weeks, I nearly missed a fewe stone carving spelling issues. Maybe I am getting less observant – I would have expected to spot these at a distance. Or maybe it is like the pack of Major and letters being close together get hiiden in plain sight.

MALLOW

ERECTED
ERECTRED

MAJOR

Virginia Filter Tipped
oF fine tobacco
of Fine Tobacco

ADARE

PRECEADED

PRECEDED
PREDECEASED

LIKEWISE

20/2/2026

I used to enjoy catching tweets from Póló from his mental health walks. Those walks stopped some years ago and I am no longer active there.

Yesterday I took some time for my own mental health walk – in St Michael’s Cemetery in Blackrock. I could really have done with longer.

At the Collins grave, I did stop and ponder as to the meaning. I left a failure.

Why is LIKEWISE carved?

Who is Mother?

19/2/2026

A lovely little graveyard, Kilcooley was a stopping point on the road home yesterday.

I wanted to visit and photograph the Barker Memorial – a Pyramid. A damp afternoon but enjoyable.

Reading this headstone, three of the five standard questions remained unanswered:

WHO was Mother?
HOW/WHY is her name not carved?

Irish Genealogy did not provide a quick answer in 84 year olds who died in 1926 but deeper diving indicated that Andrew’s death cert records that he died in 1925 – not 1926 as per headstone .

The next name on the register is Maria, aged 87, who died 18th May, 1925 – Benjamin is recorded as being a son of both and present at the deaths.

Sometimes there is satisfaction in solving a puzzle – but two of the questions remain unanswered.

Saving Soles

18/2/2026

St. Patrick's Cemetery, Skibbereen

At lunchtime today, as regularly happens on my workdays in Carlow, Alan and I set off to the local shop for lunch. Entering the store, Alan threw out a comment which I am unsure would be understood by the younger generation – remember no meat today.

I think during the whole day, I only saw one person with a cross of ashes on their forehead – a lot less than my schooldays.

Eating the salad back at the desk, Alan was quick to tell the others that while we were out, he was saving my soul.

I was reminded of David Fahy’s grave in St Patrick’s Skibbereen whose grave adornment brought a smile and wondered which might be of more benefit to my redemption. Only doing this blog post, did I realise that I have become too old for Ash Wednesday.

“On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Roman Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59, whose health enables them to fast, are permitted to consume one full meal, along with two smaller meals, which together should not equal the full meal. Some Catholics will go beyond the minimum obligations put forth by the Church and undertake a complete fast or a bread and water fast until sunset. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are also days of abstinence from meat (mammals and fowl), as are all Fridays during Lent. “
Wikipedia