Return to Liam McCormick’s Churches
May 8, 2022Two years ago I had a chance to see some of Liam McCormick’s work for the first time. Two out of seven Donegal Churches.
It was St Conal’s Church in Glenties and St Michael’s Church in Creeslough. Here is the link to the blog post I wrote back then: ‘Liam McCormick and Sacral Architecture’
Truly impressive and distinctive style. I already knew then that I would come back one day to visit the other five.
It happened last weekend.
Saturday. 7 am. Cloudy morning. Bag with cameras and a tripod at the back of the car. Pink Floyd in the speakers. I was heading north with a mission. Only me, cameras and music.
Wheather unfortunately wasn’t on my side but cancelling or rescheduling was not an option. Considering my busy schedule and duties, of course, I would end up not doing it at all. So I decided to take a chance and give it a try. Now or never.
I did it, so you can expect photographs of sacral architecture in the next few blog posts.
So the weather… It rained most of Saturday. It slowed me down a bit and kept me kind of locked in the car on a few occasions.
Around 10:30 am I stopped in front of the first one on my list - Donoughmore Presbyterian Church in Liscooley. Built in 1977, it is the youngest of the seven. It has also a more traditional form compared to the other six. Donoughmore Church was the only one I couldn’t enter. Well, I have a reason to go back there.
The rain wasn’t the only difficulty on my way to getting the job done. My light meter stopped working so I had to use a less accurate mobile app. Also, the shutter release cable decided not to cooperate with my Rolleiflex. I ended up releasing the shutter by hand which unfortunately made most interior photographs moved. Fortunately, this time I took my wife’s small digital camera with me. With such a backup and the RAW files out of it it, I had peace of mind.
Despite all such adversity I really enjoyed every minute of this trip. Liam McCormick’s churches are unique structures and Donegal itself is amazing. I always say that but that’s the fact. Probably the last unspoiled part of Ireland.
In a few days, there will be a new post with photographs from another Donegal church that I had on my list. Please watch this space and my social media.
Thank you!