I’m sure there is an abundance of stock photos of Ireland from which I could choose to dress up this brief post in honour of St Patrick’s Day and as acknowledgement of all I owe to my various Irish forebears. Green would inevitably be the predominant colour and shamrocks would no doubt feature.

But the fact is, my first sight of Ireland, the land of my forebears, many years ago, was from the deck of a ferry, through the dawn mist on a winter’s morning. Not so much your emerald isle, more like shades of grey. And on that and a subsequent visit, both in the middle of winter, I saw a lot of urban and rural landscapes in the rain, largely in shades of grey. I don’t recall seeing a shamrock, in the wild or in captivity, other than perhaps pictorially on a sign.

The memories are no less enjoyable for all that.

So it’s probably not surprising that my newfound friend, Dublin-based photographer Philip Pankov’s site, with its marvellous black and white photos of Dublin and other views of Ireland, is very evocative for me. Give yourself a St Pat’s day treat – check out Phil’s pics. Better still, order one!