Category Archives: Photographs

The Roundstone Time Capsule

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Roundstone

Looking out towards the twelve bens from the pier in Roundstone.

On the first day of January 2013 a time capsule was interred in the new public space dedicated to Alexander Nimmo close to the pier in Roundstone, Co. Galway.

Memorial to Alexander Nimmo in the new public triangle close to the harbour in Roundstone.

Memorial to Alexander Nimmo in the new public triangle close to the harbour in Roundstone.

The time capsule project was the bright idea of Padraic McDonagh from the Shamrock bar in Roundstone and an energetic committee brought the idea to fruition. The project sought to encourage everybody with a connection to Roundstone to submit a letter to the future generations containing life stories, memories, family trees, old/recent photographs. The entries had to be submitted on acid free paper and envelopes which were available to purchase for €10. The capsule will be opened 50 years from now in 2063.

I caught up with Richard Duc de Stacpoole from the organizing committee who explained the genesis of the project and the rationale behind the idea. It was in many ways a project designed to capture the memories and stories of local people so that they could be shared with future generations.

The project really caught the imagination and hundreds of letters and photographs were submitted to the time capsule by Roundstone residents and those with an association with Roundstone from around the world. The capsule was open for submissions during the summer of 2012 and attracted visitors throughout the year. Padraic Lydon and Corina both from Carna but with strong connections to Roundstone were one of the first to submit a letter which they did one evening during the summer of 2012. That same evening late last summer they met a family group from Australia who had travelled to Roundstone in order to submit a letter. Padraic and Corina were excited to be in Roundstone for the closing and burying of the capsule. Padraic was a fisherman for forty years and in the audio below he talks about his memories of Roundstone and the changes he has seen over the years.

I also caught up with Francis Sullivan who arrived at the pier with a letter from his son which will be added to the capsule before all the submissions are vacuum packed and it is fully sealed next week. Francis thought the time capsule was a great idea and the package from his son contained some old photographs of Roundstone as well as a letter.

The time capsule was brought down to the new public triangle close to the pier by local children following twelve O’clock mass. A short well attended closing and burying ceremony then took place on a beautiful winter’s afternoon in one of the most scenic and picturesque settings in the west of Ireland. The Twelve bens glistened in the low sunlight and the sea in the harbor was flat calm.

It was one of the first events of the Gathering Ireland 2013 following the spectacular launch of the yearlong celebration on New Year’s eve in Dublin. There was a huge turnout in Roundstone for the official closing and burying ceremony with people gathered around the pier for most of the afternoon. As we heard from Richard de Stacpoole the ceremony attracted a group of twelve visitors from Italy who had never been to Ireland before let alone this beautiful village on the west coast.

Fixing the posts.

Fixing the posts.

Following the burial of the time capsule Connemara rugby club continued the festivities on the pier with a novel fund raising event. Music and food were provided and a set of rugby goal posts was floated in the middle of the harbour. A goal kicking competition set against the spectacular back drop of the twelve bens provided a focus for the afternoon and a large crowd were kept entertained. The local hostelries were doing a great trade serving hot and cold refreshments.

Getting set to split the posts in two.

Getting set to split the posts in two.

Padraic McDonagh the instigator of the Time capsule project was kept busy for the afternoon fishing rugby balls from the water.

Patrick McDonagh recovers rugby balls from the harbour.

Patrick McDonagh recovers rugby balls from the harbour.

The Time Capsule Project epitomises the ethos of the Gathering with a local community providing a novel and enjoyable celebration of their own place enjoyed by local and visitors alike. The event also encouraged a discussion about Roundstone today and the direction the community would like to steer for the next fifty years before the capsule is opened in 2063.

Crowds on the pier at Roundstone after the burying of the time capsule.

Crowds on the pier at Roundstone after the burying of the time capsule.

Cúirt Literary Trail

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Cúirt International Festival of Literature 2012

Cúirt is an international Literature Festival which is held in Galway every year in April. It is a fantastic celebration of everything related to literature and attracts famous authors and enthusiastic audiences. Each year as part of the festival and in conjunction with Galway City Council a literary plaque is erected and unveiled. The bronze plaques feature poems and prose about Galway from a wide and diverse range range of writers. The plaques now form a wonderful literary tour along Galway’s canals and promenade. An itinerary for this delightful literary ramble was published on the about Galway section of the Cúirt website.

This tour has been transfered on to the EveryTrail platform which allows the 7 plaques to be mapped and located. EveryTrail is a global web 2.0 platform for geo-tagged user-generated travel content. It  makes it easy to share travel experiences, through interactive maps that include photos plotted along your trip route. The Cúirt Literary guide features photographs of each of the plaques  and can be viewed and explored through maps and descriptions on the Everytrail site but can also be freely downloaded on to a smartphone.

The tour starts in front of the quadrangle in NUIG and ends approximately 5km later towards the end of the promenade in Salthill.

The guide is available to view and download here

Uisce agus beatha – Galway City Museum

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Cover of the exhibition catalogue

During the excitement of the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway it would have been easy to overlook the opening of a new exhibition in the Galway City Museum. The exhibition called Uisce agus beatha – Water and life – was opened by the new mayor Cllr. Terry O’Flaherty on Thursday the 5th July. It was curated by Jim Higgins Galway city’s heritage officer and was a joint initiative between the heritage office and the Galway City Museum.

The exhibition is a celebration of people, places, boats and water and was ideally suited to coincide with the Volvo Ocean Race. It consists of fifty photographs contributed by the people of Galway in response to an appeal by the museum and the heritage office. The photographs are a reflection on the central place of water in the history and culture of Galway city. The photographs chosen for the exhibition are largely unknown and are personal and local memories of all things and people water related. It is a simple exhibition consisting of a series of large format unframed photographs grouped together and hung against the white walls of the Galway City Museum. It is perhaps this simplicity and the personal nature of the photographs which makes it so compelling.

Group of Photographs from Uisce agus beatha

The photographs range in date from the 1890’s to the 1990’s and includes some early images of the docks and the claddagh. With the river, lake and sea, water has played a huge part in the economic life of Galway city and as Jim Higgin’s reflects in his introduction to the exhibition catalogue ‘it is difficult now to believe the extent of the trade and transport which once existed on Lough Corrib’.

The head of the River Corrib, galway, 1980s. Photograph courtesy of Martin Canavan

Some of my favourite photographs from the exhibition reflect the sporting side of the association with water. The colourful depiction of the Galway head of the river and the energy seeping out of the black and white photograph of the currach racing held during the an Tóstal Ireland at Home festival in 1957 stood out for me. However, it is hard also not to be taken by the beautiful photographs of Galway hookers being gracefully propelled by the wind.

Photographs from uisce agus beatha in the foyer of the Glaway City Museum

The photographs exhibited are only some of the hundreds received from the public. There are plans to post all these photographs on the Glawy City Museum website during heritage week in August and the Uisce agus Beatha exhibition will be on display throughout the summer in the museum. The exhibition is upported by Galway City Council, The Heritage Council and Foras na Galeilge. It is well worth a look.

Claregalway Friary

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Claregalway Friary at sunset

I have been working in Tuam Co. Galway on and off for the last few years and one of the pleasures of the journey to Tuam is passing through Claregalway. As you cross the river Clare a newly restored tower house dominates the road and a Franciscan friary with a fabulously preserved east window can be seen on the banks of the river. As I passed that familiar stretch of road last week the sun was just setting on what was a lovely clear evening. I was compelled to stop and try and capture the view towards the friary with the sun setting in the background. The light was changing rapidly and the colours from the sun were reflected off the clouds and river. I took a series of Photographs which can be seen over on my Flickr photostream. I’m not sure I captured the stunning beauty of the scene but it was fun trying.