Tuesday 17 July 2012

Take Three: Photos

Cork c1900: Cork City Libraries have added five new photos to their online album of scenes from around 1900 in Cork City and Cork County. It's a cracking collection of some beautiful landscapes, as you'd expect with images of this stunning part of the island, but the best are those that capture people going about their lives.

If you can identify precise locations or name any of the currently unidentified individuals in the photos, the library would love to hear from you at localstudies_library@corkcity.ie.

Similarly, if you would be prepared to loan any historical photographs from your own ancestral collection, for inclusion in the digital album, please contact the library.

Mountjoy Prison: Portraits of Irish Independence: The New York Public Library has uploaded two digital photograph albums of prisoners in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.

The photos come from the Thomas A Larcom Collection (he was the permanent Under Secretary for Ireland from 1853-1869) and include 150 salt and albumen print photographs of prisoners confined in August 1857 and November 1866. As the website explains: 'Identified as felons and Fenian political prisoners, the subjects of the photographs include some of the leaders of the Fenian Brotherhood and its Irish wing, the Irish Republican Brotherhood. One of these, the early activist Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa (1831-1915), later(1874) recounted sitting for his portrait:

"After being shaven I was led to have my picture taken. The photographer had a large black-painted pasteboard prepared, with my name across it in white, and, pinning it across my breast, he sat me in position. I remained sitting and looking according to instructions until he had done, and he never had the manners to tell – what artists never fail to tell me – that I made an exceedingly good picture."'

PhotoIreland theme: Migrations: Diaspora & Cultural Identity: Living-Leaving, an exhibition by David Monahan and Maurice Gunning, is in its final few days at the NPA, Dublin.

David Monahan’s work is entitled ‘Leaving Dublin’ and is a series of portrait studies of nationals and non-nationals about to migrate from Dublin. These photographs were virtually exhibited as projections in thirteen international venues last St Patrick’s Day.

Maurice Gunning’s photos are of the Irish Diaspora in Argentina.

The exhibition ends on Saturday 22 July. It's free and is held at the National Photographic Archive, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar. Opening hours are 10am to 4.45pm, Monday to Saturday.