Soon, it will become as iconic as the box of USA biscuits at Christmastime or the Guinness Book of Records. There is immense pride in Galway at the local initiative that resulted in the Old Ireland In Colour series that sprung forth a few years ago and went on to smash every bookselling record in the country.
Lives lived in colour but captured in monochrome always seemed to be not in our own spaces, but in those parts of our mind that stayed firmly rooted in our past.
Locally-based academic John Breslin and Sarah-Anne Buckley are now back with the third instalment of their record-breaking Old Ireland in Colour series. The authors have uncovered yet more photographic gems and breathed new life into them in glorious colour.
Beloved by Irish readers at home and abroad, for this new volume the authors have happened upon a series of stunning images that when colourised, seeemd to jump from the pages.
All of Irish life is here – from an eviction in Clare in 1888 to devastating floods in Strabane and a snapshot of working life in Dublin. Famous faces from politics and the arts appear alongside hard-working labourers and farmers, and mischievous children from all corners of the island light up this book’s glorious pages.
With endless surprising details to pore over in every picture, along with illuminating captions, Old Ireland in Colour 3 is a stunning addition to this wonderful series of unique books.
Prof. John Breslin is a Personal Professor in Electronic Engineering at the University of Galway, where he is co-PI at the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics. He is co-founder of boards.ie, adverts.ie, and the PorterShed (Galway City Innovation District ). From Fanore in the Burren, he lives between Moycullen and Oughterard in Connemara and has given of his time and expertise to many projects in the region.
Sarah-Anne Buckley is an Associate Professor in History at at the University of Galway. Chair of the Irish History Students’ Association, co-PI of the Tuam Oral History Project and past President of the Women’s History Association of Ireland, she has authored/edited ten books. From Cobh, she lives in Galway and she too has been generous of her time in helping. anew generation gain an understanding of times past.
Galway once again features prominently in these pages.
“Galway has always been a focus of the Old Ireland in Colour project since it took life on social media in 2019,” they told the Advertiser this week.
“This is partially because of where we are based, and we focused on the beautiful photographs of Galway City, the Aran Islands and Connemara first.
“But it is also since some of the amazing historical photographs from Galway were always amongst the most popular online and sparked very interesting conversations.”
The ones selected for this page give an idea of the depth of the images contained in this stunning new book. Although, it is the third in a series, there is a remarkable freshness as the images get an audience the subjects would never have imagined.
