One of my goals as a Documentary Photographer is to pass on my skills as a photographer to community groups in rural Ireland to ensure that their lives, events and the people who are special to them are documented, exhibited, published in book format and archived in our National Libraries for future generations. The following publications have all been created as a result of community groups wishing to ensure that there is a lasting record of their home place. If you are interested in finding out more about these publications, the community groups and the projects you can email me on kerryarts@eircom.net.
 Adrigole…..The Jewel on the Ring
2007
180 pages, full colour, soft cover
Members of the Adrigole Women’s Group have produced a book of social history to ensure that the special stories and history of the people in the parish of Adrigole in south west Cork will not be lost. The group have succeeded in archiving, with integrity, a changing rural community and have produced what will be a much valued document for future generations. The book has brought together writers, photographers and a very gifted artist; the result of which is a unique book that truly captures the spirit of Adrigole, ‘The Jewel on the Ring’.
 Aistear
Méanscoil na Toirbhirte
2007
64 pages, full colour, soft cover
This 60 page full colour publication celebrates eighty two years of inspired education at Meánscoil na Toirbhirte, a secondary school for girls in the heart of Dingle town. The ethos of the school and the people who built its outstanding reputation is testament to the success of those who have been fortunate to attend the school and be part of the visionary culture. The book is accompanied by a thirty minute DVD that shows the everyday life of the school, activities taking place, and interviews with staff and students.
 Framed in Time…..The Sheep’s Head Peninsula
Sheep’s Head Photography Group
2006
216 pages, full colour, soft cover
‘Dear Reader, please take the time to look through this book of photographs of the lovely Sheep’s Head Peninsula in West Cork. These pictures were taken by the locals of the area and give us a glimpse of their daily lives, surrounded by water, in one of the most beautiful locations on this island of Ireland.’
John Spillane, Singer, Song Writer
 Draíocht Mhúscraí…Portrait of a Cork Gaeltacht
Muskerry Photographic Group
2005
216 pages, full colour, soft cover
‘An enduring photographic record created from within the community, it reveals the landscape and the daily and seasonal preoccupations of this beautiful corner of West Cork. It conveys layers of meaning with extraordinary clarity in a realm where words can merely adumbrate, being too self conscious and capable of living only outside the instant of an image’s and creation. These photographs are windows into our lives and those around us; the atmosphere of special gatherings, the telling of familiar faces, the objects and rituals that punctuate our conversations, flashes of remembering and spaces where the land yields to pilgrimage and peaceful sanctuary.
Iarla Ó Lionáird, Composer & Singer
 Set in Time…..Blackwater & Templenoe
Blackwater Women’s Group
2005
216 pages, full colour, soft cover
‘I feel privileged to have been born and raised in what I consider to be one of the world’s most beautiful places, Templenoe, on the ring of Kerry. Its rich mixture of beautiful coastline and rugged green hills are a joy, not only to those fortunate enough to live here, but also to the droves of visitors who come to our shores each year. Not alone beautiful to look at, it is enriched by a warm community spirit, which is evident to all.’
Tom Spillane, Sportsman
 Our Home….Our Future
Kerry Diocesan Youth Service
2005
20 pages, full colour, soft covers
‘This project has made a difference to the lives of these young people by providing them with a means to communicate through the arts, in a way that is both visual and verbal. The learning process has enabled the young people to further explore the world around them, to inspire them and others in the community. The project has given confidence to the group and the book is truly their world, seen through their eyes; it is unique and original.’
Martin Riordan, County Manager, Kerry County Council
 A Place Apart...West Cork
Produced by the Bantry Active Retirement Association
2005
56 pages, full colour, soft cover
‘You lose yourself in West Cork, an ancient place, remote and lovely with the untamed beauty of when the world was young. You wander in another time around the little wave-laced coves, across the furze and flower-strewn hillsides, into the deep mist-filled glens and out to the remote rock-bound headlands, lost in the loveliness and wishing for nothing more the live-long day until, as you watch and wait in some delightful place, the sun goes down over the rim of the world. And in the twilight, the beauty of West Cork enthrals you still.’
 Friendly Faces………Beautiful Places
St. Colum’s Women’s Group
2004
Full colour, 216 page soft cover
‘The beauty of our natural environment comes across vividly in these photographs. The sacred bond between the farmer, the dog, the livestock and the land is very apparent. But most memorable of all are the faces – the dear familiar faces of family, friends and neighbours caught for an instant in time and now have a timeless lyrical tenderness on the page. The community owes a debt of gratitude to everybody involved in the creation of this loving portrayal of the small place we call home. As well as an important social document of the way we are, this collection of photographs will, for many of us, be a treasured personal record.’
 A Journey Through Tuosist
The Tuosist Community Group
2004
Full colour, 216 page soft cover
‘This publication is a worthy addition to the fine library of Tuosist literature and archive in the Irish Folklore Commission. The community living along the 23 mile coastal stretch between Bear’s Caha Mountains and Kenmare Bay are heirs to a rich seam of heritage. The photographers were true to the old Kerry proverb ‘when you are faithful to your own people and birthplace you will flourish as a person.’
 BONANE…..its people and the places that we call home!
The Bonane Women’s Group
2003
Full colour, 216 page hard cover
Bonane is a little parish which nestles in the Caha Mountains between Kenmare and Glengarriff. Although Bonane has only 230 inhabitants, there is a wonderful sense of community and pride in the local area, its history and heritage. In 2003, forty of the women in Bonane took out their cameras and the result is a unique book that documents the life of a close-knit community in County Kerry.
 Picture the Time – Rural Life in Ireland
Kilflynn Millennium Documentary Photography Project
2000
Black & White, 154 pages hard cover & soft cover editions
‘When you open this book you will be taken into the daily lives of people who live and work in a rural landscape. You will see a visual calendar of events, some of which will never happen again. You will remember when you were behind a school desk and feel the passage of time. The images describe our culture and the feeling that we have for; family, landscape, music, ritual and sport. You will meet through these images people that you would like to know better; these photographs will make you ask questions about your own memories and examine what is important to you.’
The following calendars have all been produced as a result of Documentary Photography Projects with Youth & Community Groups.
Round and About Bantry 2008
Bantry Active Retirement Association
Co. Cork
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The Face of Lesotho 2008
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Bantry & Beyond 2007
Bantry Active Retirement Association
Co. Cork
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Beautiful Bantry 2006
Bantry Active Retirement Association
Co. Cork
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Féilire an Leithtrúigh 2006
Cloghane Photographic Group
Co. Kerry
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A Celebration of Limerick – 2005
Paul Partnership Five Community Groups Project
Limerick
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Féilire an Leithtrúigh 2005
Claghane Photographic Group
Co. Kerry
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A Sense of Place’ 2005
Bantry Active Retirement Association
Co.Cork
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Killarney 2004
Muckross Community Association
Killarney, Co. Kerry
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Limerick 2003
Corpus Christi Youth Group
Moyross, Co. Limerick
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