On March 1st I hosted a ‘Heart of Ireland’ day, the idea came to me when I was walking the dog. There was quite a lot of negativity online and I wanted to do something to brighten people’s day, so I asked people to share their photos and videos of Ireland using the #heartofireland tag. I never know how these days will go, but I have years of photos I’ve taken, so I had a lot to share. People were fantastic at joining in, especially on twitter where the topic was trending at number one – which was no mean feat as the platform went down for about two hours.
It was a really busy day online and much to my surprise #heartofireland continued to trend on March 2nd and the morning of March 3rd! I know not everyone is on twitter, so I’m adding some of the beautiful photos to this post, there’s so much of Ireland that I haven’t seen and I’m now inspired to go exploring.
The Rock of Dunamase, Co. Laois, by Alan – who was a fantastic supporter of the campaign.
Marc (MarcD_Weegem) shares the most beautiful photos of Wicklow, he’s usually up bright and early with his four-legged friend Pippin to capture the sunrise over the waves.
Maureen posted some beautiful photos including this fairytale image of the mist and the sunrise in Cavan.
Gemma shared some beautiful photos, including sunrise over the river Suir, Carrick on Suir, Tipperary.
Ger Holland is an outstanding photographer and shared the image of Classiebawn Castle in Mullaghmore, Sligo
Grainne took us to Inchydoney Beach, Cork. The photo was taken in December.
Another from Cork, this time the city centre from Veronica.
A rainbow over Dublin city from Benjamin.
Orla shared sunrise in County Galway.
The great viaduct at Borris, Co. Carlow, shared by John, who tells us that it’s now open to welcome walkers.
Mary suggests we watch the sunset on Skerries harbour, the only west facing harbour on the Irish east coast.
Olly shares the iconic Rock of Cashel in Co. Tipperary with Galtymore bringing up the rear.
Snowy Ben Bulben as seen from the 2nd beach in Rosses Point, Sligo, by Oonagh.
Brid shared some gorgeous photos, including the Caha Pass on the Cork-Kerry border.
Kate shared some lovely photos, including the Dublin Cityscape at sunset.
Sligeach – where you can have a paradisiac beach ALL to yourself – by Dol.
Joe shared Loughcrew, Oldcastle, Co Meath.
A tunnel of trees in Leitrim by Martha.
Hen shared Ballycotton in Co. Cork.
Fiona says that Newport in Co. Mayo has been one of her favourite places to visit in Ireland so far.
Diamond Hill in Connemara from Travel through Ireland.
Colleen shared Kylemore Abbey in Connemara.
The now super famous Achill scene from The Banshees of Inisherin by Sally.
Louise told us about the Arigna Miners Way & Historic Trail – a network of walking paths which wind their way through adjoining parts of Counties Leitrim, Roscommon & Sligo. In total the Arigna Miners Way route is 65.7 kilometres in length & ascends some 1,300 metres.
Seamus shared ‘The Mighty Oak’.
MCRossie shared Bantry House with Bantry Bay in the background. Taken from the top of the gardens last summer.
Liam shared ‘Somewhere in Ireland – looking for directions’.
Landsdown Road, Dublin by Areis.
Kerry by Adventuring with Peter and Dolores.
Lusk in Dublin by Kranky Karer.
The Cliffs of Moher by David Kenny
Another from David, because this one is on my bucket list. Cuilcagh boardwalk, also known as The Stairway to Heaven Walk Cavan/Fermanagh.
Rathvilly Co Carlow by Bernie.
The Wild West of Ireland by Jay.
St. Mullins, Carlow by Queen Alocin.
Rosslare Harbour by Tweeting Goddess
Eimear told us that Derrycassin Woods in Longford is a must-visit in Autumn.
Sinead shared an early morning walk from Kinsale.
We saw Lucy’s garden visitor in Roscommon.
Joe shared some of his friendly neighbours in Sligo.
We went on a virtual trip around Ireland with Veronica, including along the River Barrow.
Una shared a lovely collage of images from North Mayo.
We went for a virtual snorkel in Mullaghmore, Sligo, with Niamh.
These are just a very small selection of the huge amount of posts shared with the #heartofireland tag. It was a joy to see them all, Ireland is such a beautiful country, with so much to see and do. I was delighted to see Discover Ireland sharing a post and using the hashtag, that was a real bonus.
These were a very busy few days on social media and I just want to remind people that I don’t get paid to do this, because I’ve heard some people think that I do. I’d love to see a ‘Heart of Ireland’ book, maybe it could raise money for charity, there were so many beautiful photos shared and it’d be great to bring them to a wider audience. I loved that so many people enjoyed the days and some said that it gave them a sense of community – something that had been missing on twitter for a while.
Magnumlady Blog 
So many talented photographers 👏
What beautiful scenes! The Rock of Cashel is an amazing sight in reality and the photo here does it justice – I particularly like the mountain skyline as a backdrop.