The Old Manse

The roof has caved, the floors rotted, the ivy embraced - yet, miraculously, panes of glass till adorn the Gothic windows in the ornate porch - once painted pink judging by the scraps of colour. Breathtaking in its day, in its beauty and audacity - built next to a site of utmost spiritual importance to the majority of the Catholic population in the village, many of whom lived in poverty. When I first had a snoop around my friend was horrified for it was still inhabited apparently - by two elderly brothers who were not delighted by visitors and had shotguns. They have long gone, their tractor bramble-embraced. 
I liked how the leaves seen through the glassless pane looked like stained glass.
A very damp day here in West Cork and now we're off out to supper so catch you later.