Category: Irish Counties

Who’s in the Lead?

by irishvisions

Story
Local residents are pictured watching the annual Clare Island regatta. In the distance, West Coast hooker boats (an húicéiri) compete in a heated race. Local to the Connemara coastline, hookers were used around Clew Bay and Achill to transport goods and people. Despite near extinction by 1960, there has been a recent resurgence in constructing these old-fashioned sailboats. Now they are used primarily for pleasure, sport and to preserve traditional boat building techniques.
Location
Clare Island Regatta, Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Lobster Fisherman, John Gallagher

by irishvisions

Story
Given the amount of rainfall in Ireland, bogs are generally quite wet and dangerous to traverse. In this scene, a bog face has been recently cut. Its damp sods of turf are tossed upon the bank to begin the drying process. Farmers will then stack the pieces to allow more air to flow through the turf. Once dry enough, the peat is stacked in ever larger mounds and eventually into an enormous reek. Turf reeks are frequently positioned near a bog path to allow easy access for the horse and cart that bring the fuel home.
Location
Clare Island, Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Raking the Hay, The Kelly Family

by irishvisions

Story
Tom, Jack, Mary and Thomas Kelly are working to bring in the hay but pause their efforts for Helen to photograph the scene. The Kelly’s are near Granuaile’s Castle in Carraigahowley, Co. Mayo. Farmers usually wore work shirts while laboring. New shirts were worn on Sundays only, transitioned to weekday wear later, then became work shirts as they aged. The men wore galluses (suspenders) to hold up their trousers even when wearing a belt. During “The Emergency” years of the Second World War, clothes and other goods were scarce and beyond most people’s modest means. Mending was common as people made do with what they had.
Location
Carraigahowley, Co. Mayo
Date
1943
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Ribs and Oars of a Currach

by irishvisions

Story
In 1938, Helen and Ernie O’Malley visited Inishbofin Island just off the Galway coast. Transport to the islands was via large boat that would often carry a currach on board. If a port had no pier, the crew could lower the currach, unload the ship’s cargo and row their goods ashore. This image highlights a plank-built currach with its wooden oars and thin wood ribs inside a tar-covered shell. Once made out of stretched animal hides and now canvas, the thin skin is all that separates the fishermen from rough, cold ocean waters.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Island Ways

by irishvisions

Story
During their visit to Clare Island in 1938, Helen and Ernie O’Malley observed many of the local conditions. No telephone lines or motor cars are present in this village scene. Some of the older residents wear traditional clothing as does the woman in the background of the picture. Note the two panniers on either side of the horse’s back. These woven wicker baskets were used to transport goods. In this image the local parish priest can be identified by his white collar as he wheels his bicycle through the village.
Location
Clare Island, Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Footed Turf, Treacherous Water

by irishvisions

Story
Given the amount of rainfall in Ireland, bogs are generally quite wet and dangerous to traverse. In this scene, a bog face has been recently cut. Its damp sods of turf are tossed upon the bank to begin the drying process. Farmers will then stack the pieces to allow more air to flow through the turf. Once dry enough, the peat is stacked in ever larger mounds and eventually into an enormous reek. Turf reeks are frequently positioned near a bog path to allow easy access for the horse and cart that bring the fuel home.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1975
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Bogwood Evolution: Tree to Turf

by irishvisions

Story
Ireland was originally covered with trees. Over the centuries their remains have been transformed into bogland. Even today, bogs reveal evidence of the large trees that once grew there. As the trees decayed, the bogs developed. In turn, locals cut the bog to provide turf to burn in their hearths to warm their homes and cook. This image depicts the silvered stump of an ancient tree just below the earth’s surface. Above it, a turf reek awaits transport to the farmer’s home.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1975
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Entering Holy Ground

by irishvisions

Story
In this image of the holy grounds of Glendalough, the sun is setting. The cemetery and abbey ruins are suffused with the sun’s waning rays. Helen O’Malley was conscious of using natural light. She would often wait to photograph a subject at a later time if the sun would then provide better illumination.
Location
Glendalough, Co. Wicklow
Date
1975
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