| Story |
A Burrishoole Lodge farmhand places recently dug potatoes in burlap sacks and then buries them under mounds of clay. These clay hillocks protected the harvest from vermin and weather. Later the potato sacks were transported to storage closer to the home. This image was taken on Helen Hooker O’Malley’s own farm at Newport, Co. Mayo. |
| Location |
Burrishoole, Co. Mayo |
| Date |
1943 |
| Purchase |
BUY NOW or CUSTOM ORDER |
| Story |
Ernie chats with a local man by the side of the road near Granuaile’s Castle at Kildavnet on Achill Island. |
| Location |
Achill Island, Co. Mayo |
| Date |
1939 |
| Purchase |
BUY NOW or CUSTOM ORDER |
| Story |
Sheep fairs were still held in 1975 when Helen Hooker O’Malley captured two farmers negotiating the price for livestock at the Newport sheep fair. This market fair was held near her home in Newport, Co. Mayo. |
| Location |
Newport Sheep Fair, Co. Mayo |
| Date |
1975 |
| Purchase |
BUY NOW or CUSTOM ORDER |
| Story |
Market fairs for selling livestock was an important part in the life and economy of rural Ireland. This image portrays a sheep fair in Newport, Co. Mayo near where Ernie and Helen O’Malley lived and operated their own farm in 1943. A large weighing scale resembling a catapult is seen in the background. The photograph can be dated by the make and model of the motor cars appearing in the lower left of the town scene. It is a wet day, and the men are outfitted accordingly with their heavy coats, traditional caps, and walking sticks. |
| Location |
Co. Mayo |
| Date |
1943 |
| Purchase |
BUY NOW or CUSTOM ORDER |
| Story |
Two horses race on Carrowmore Strand near Louisburgh. Spectators watch the race that is held at low tide when the strand is at maximum width and quite level. These races stopped during the Second World War and have only been recently revived. |
| Location |
Louisburgh, Co. Mayo |
| Date |
1938 |
| Purchase |
BUY NOW or CUSTOM ORDER |
| Story |
Island men chat while watching the Clare Island annual boat regatta from their precarious cliff vantage point. The men all wear shirts, jackets, hats, and good solid shoes probably their finest outfits. |
| Location |
Clare Island, Co. Mayo |
| Date |
1938 |
| Purchase |
BUY NOW or CUSTOM ORDER |
| 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 |
| Purchase |
BUY NOW or CUSTOM ORDER |
| 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 |
| Purchase |
BUY NOW or CUSTOM ORDER |
