#maynooth — Public Fediverse posts

The first hint of autumn along the tree-lined avenues of St. Patrick’s College #Maynooth!

Some poorly timed clouds got in the way when the sun was at it’s maximum 95% eclipsed yesterday here in #Maynooth, but that gave me an opportunity to spot these lovely iridescent clouds just above it. Also, spot the hint of the crescent sun peeping through the clouds at the bottom! #SolarEclipse2026

The colander effect snapped just a few minutes before our maximum #SolarEclipse here in #Maynooth

A Red Admiral #Butterfly perched on ripening blackberries along the #RoyalCanal near #Maynooth.

A simple white Rose growing along the embankment outside the lovely Shoda coffee shop in #Maynooth. #Bloomscrolling

A beautiful Green-veined White #Butterfly feeding on a vibrant Valerian growing wild along the #RoyalCanal near #Maynooth. #Bloomscrolling

A somewhat tattered Speckled Wood #Butterfly sunbathing on a bramble leaf along Carton Avenue in #Maynooth.

Dotted Loosestrife growing wild along the #RoyalCanal in #Maynooth. #Bloomscrolling

A closeup view of a yellow water lily right next to the #RoyalCanal quayside in the Duke’s Harbour at Pike Bridge and the entrance to #CartonHouse just east of #Maynooth. #Bloomscrolling

Tyrconnell Tower in #CartonHouse near #Maynooth on a sunny summer afternoon.

This seagull was kind enough to pose perfectly for me on the railings along the #RoyalCanal harbour in #Maynooth. #birds

White flames of cloud over #Maynooth.

This pretty little flower growing wild along the stream next to Parson St. in #Maynooth goes by the odd name “Old Man’s Beard”. I think it probably escaped from the old garden around the big old house opposite. #Bloomscrolling

A summery view for the passengers on this #IrishRail InterCity service as it accelerates away from #Maynooth along the sun-soaked banks of the #RoyalCanal.

Jeux d’eau

So a six-week hosepipe ban (covering all non-essential use of water) has just started in an area including Maynooth:

(I’m a little surprised that we haven’t been served with an official written notice about this but I’ll observe it anyway.)

Since we won’t be able to play with real water for a while, how about the next best thing in the form of this wonderful performance of Maurice Ravel‘s beautiful Jeux d’eau by Martha Argerich? This is the only version of this piece I have on CD, and I’d be happy to receive other suggestions through the comments box, but I think it must be hard to beat for the sheer fluidity of the playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSNGK6dJ0qs

Maynooth University Library Cat Update

I’m not in Maynooth right now, but I gather it’s warm there. Not perhaps as warm as here in London (34°C), bit still a bit warm to be wearing a fur coat. Still, it seems that Maynooth Library Cat is surviving…

A perfect yellow water lily at Pike Bridge and “The Duke’s Harbour” on the #RoyalCanal at the entrance to Carton House near #Maynooth. #Bloomscrolling

Finally finished my series for #RPSI “The Midlander” #steam #train specials on the 20th and 21st of June between Dublin and #Maynooth.

Most of the trains were pulled by the beautiful blue loco No. 171 Slieve Gullion, but diesel loco 071 made a guest appearance!

https://glass.photo/bbusschots/series/77zeUDsJK7QZEWv3Qx7kAm-2026-06-20-and-21-the-midlander

Unlike the steam loco due to pull this #RPSI “The Midlander” special, the #IrishRail 071-class diesel locos have two cabs, so the look the same from both ends! Here the loco is pulling the return leg from #Maynooth back to Dublin along the #RoyalCanal, using the opposite cab to the first leg!

A sunny summer commute for the passengers on this #IrishRail service to Dublin as it accelerates away from #Maynooth along a very lush and green #RoyalCanal. #train

The Hottest Day

So the heatwave continues. The forecast for Maynooth today has temperatures exceeding 30°C, and higher in the South.

This kind of heat is very unusual for Ireland; the highest temperature ever recorded on the island is 33.3°C, in Kilkenny, way back in 1887. That record may well be broken today…

Actually the temperature readings in 1887 were given to the nearest degree Fahrenheit; the reading on 26th June 1887 was 92°F, which means somewhere between 91.5°F and 92.5°F (which is 33.1–33.6°C), so the central value of 33.3°C is not unreasonable, though the number could have been as low as 33.1°C or as high as 33.6°C. For a discussion see here.

It’s worth also repeating the fact I mentioned a few days ago on the Solstice, that this evening we will have the latest sunset of 2026, at 9:59:38 pm.

Yesterday afternoon we had a Staff Barbecue, which was held in nice – but not quite so hot – weather. It was very well attended and a pleasant occasion all round with plentiful burgers, hotdogs and booze. I must say it was very generous of the President to pay for all that out of her own pocket. (Is This Right? Ed.)

Right on time, but not at all what myself and my fellow train spotters were expecting, the fifty year old diesel loco 071, in it’s commemorative original 1970s livery appeared pulling the #RPSI “the Midlander” ‘steam’ special towards #Maynooth at Pike Bridge on the #RoyalCanal. #IrishRail

Former Great Northern Railway of Ireland (#GNRi) 4-4-0 #steam loco No. 171 Slieve Gullion pulling “The Midlander” out of #Maynooth and back towards Dublin along the #RoyalCanal on an #RPSI special. #BlackAndWhite

Jogging down the #RoyalCanal eastward away from #Maynooth in the summer sun.

With a little help from the channel mixer and some selective adjustments in Photoshop, this nice but not quite perfect colour image makes a striking monochrome! #RPSI #steam #Maynooth #RoyalCanal #BlackAndWhite