the bird or the spire?

Had to spend time this morning waiting for a phone call from a photocopier man, and a visit from a plumber, so spent some time trying to capture some very fast moving birds in the garden. A few were OK but I went out to keep fit a bit earlier tonight to try and get a few quick night shots for a flickr challenge on 'my home town'. the words 'quick' and 'night shots' don't really go together so most of them were deleted apart from this spire, which I was quite pleased with.

It is the 144 ft spire of St Mary's Church, which dominates the town and which you can see from miles away, as well as from just outside our back gate. I think I will make a point of taking it in different lights as for some reason I find it oddly fascinating. the knobbly bits remind me of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, but actually if you look at PaulaJ's blip for today you can see a similarity. Quite a common design perhaps.

St Mary's Church as it is now is described as a Gothic Revival cruciform church by Dublin architects Ashlin & Coleman, built in 1908 after the previous one had burnt down. Apparently is has some fine statues and stained glass but I can't recall ever being inside it. There has been quite a lot of restoration work done on the church recently, and a new addition seems to be a clock that strikes every quarter of an hour and on the hour. It is a bit tinny - Big Ben it aint - but useful for keeping track of the time when you are in the garden!