To Slane Castle to photograph Lord Henry for Hot Press.
Slane Castle sits on the banks of the river Boyne in a natural amphitheatre and holds a also annual outdoor rock concert which has featured the likes of U2, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Bruce Sprinsteen and this year Kings of Leon.
Olaf Tyaransen (Hot Press writer) and myself were met by Lord Henry and given a guided tour and brief history of the castle and it’s inhabitants. Seemingly the road from Dublin to Slane is so straight because King George IV wanted to get here as quickly as possible to see his mistress, Lord Henry’s great, great, great, great grandmother!
I spotted a few burnt patches in the wooden floor in the Gothic ballroom and Henry explained he had left them there deliberately as a reminder of the fire that nearly destroyed the castle in 1992, the same room U2 recorded “The Unforgettable Fire” album, now Alanis Morrisette, that’s Ironic!
Lord Henry, or just Henry, was lovely, a real gentleman, very welcoming and patient having his photos taken. I shot him in the ballroom in front of the huge portrait of George IV that he and his wife somehow managed to save from the fire that night. How they did, I’ll never know, the portrait must be 12 feet by 8 feet with a heavy gilt frame!
I also photographed him sitting on the steps of the castle with his trademark odd socks and in what will be a new club in the basement with photos of some of the acts that have played here.