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| Entrance |
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Welcome, Bienvenue, Galway, Kerry
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This is an abandoned hostel I found in a touristy spot of Ireland. It almost looks like a holiday camp with its chalets and parkland.
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| Chalet |
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Chalet
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I visited the hostel just after dawn. I was interested to see if the morning light would add a different quality to my photographs.
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| Accommodation |
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Morning Light
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The outside of the hostel was interesting in itself. However, the inside was just incredible. Although vandals had been in and smashed some windows, the interior was fairly intact. Judging from different calendars around the place it looked like the hostel closed in the mid-noughties. The interior of the main living block was filled with paraphernalia that transported me back to a different time. I felt as if I was in the 1990's again.
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| Bunk Beds |
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| Residents Room |
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| The Rising Sun |
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Bedroom
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This place definitely pre-dates the Celtic Tiger. I don't know of it's history, but I wonder if it closed because holiday makers began to expect something more fancy. There is a fairly new hotel nearby. I felt sad and nostalgic in this place, it was chock-full of postcards and notes and memories. There were loads of little bits that visitors had left behind. It is obvious that the hostel was a real home from home for whoever stayed there.
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| Residents Room |
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| Top of the fridge |
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| Organ |
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| Picture |
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| Organ |
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| Living Room |
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Dining area
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As always I am in wonder about the things that people leave behind them. In the living area there was a drawer of letters. It had been rummaged through. My friend took time to read the letters while I was taking photographs. Some dated from the 1940's. There were Christmas cards that were 70 years old and obviously had been kept and treasured for a long time. It is always very strange to see the such personal items discarded in such a manner.
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| Draw with old letters |
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| Old Letters |
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| Top of the fridge |
There were lots of old fridges in the living area with unusual photographs on top of them of disabled people trying to get up and down stairs. Every surface of the living area was cluttered with interesting things like these. I would have loved to have had longer here.
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| Top of the fridge |
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Post-it-notes of thanks
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Holiday makers left notes to say thanks for their holiday. These were stuck on to the wall in the living area.
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| Old TV's |
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| Coca-Cola Advertising Calendar |
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| Entering the kitchen |
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| The Kitchen |
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| Kitchen Closes |
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Serving Hatch
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When I opened the door to the Wardens Office the air was thick and stale. The door to this room must have been closed for many years, even it's air comes from the past! Many interesting items in here including keys and foot and mouth powder - must have been used during the foot and mouth epidemic back in 2000.
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| Warden's Office |
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| Warden's Desk |
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| Keys |
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| Keys |
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Check Out
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Time to check out. This hostel has particular relevance for me because it reminds me of hostels I used to stay in when I was younger. Maybe you stayed here at one time. I would be glad to hear any stories you have in order to build up a history of the place.
If you are leaving a comment please do not mention the hostels location. I do not want to inadvertently attract thieves to this place.
Thank you for sharing, I will be coming back to look at these pictures again and again. It almost looks like they all walked away at once.
ReplyDeleteThanks yardsailor. I'm hoping to have a website up and running this summer. I would loved to have more time at the hostel; there was so much more there to photograph.
ReplyDelete