Photo Album of the Irish, U.S. Edition

Description

The Photo Album of the Irish – U.S. Edition includes photographs from the 1860s up to the present, contributed by 24 families. It gives an authentic view of Irish American culture as reflected in family photographs. Our aim was to create a visual record of diverse emigrant stories and represent the enduring connections between Ireland and America. Daniel Mulhall, Ambassador of Ireland to the United States of America, kindly provided a foreword for the book. Also featured is an essay by Seán O’Hagan, award-winning writer on photography for The Guardian and feature writer for The Observer.

ISBN: 9781907918

Gerry (middle) with the O’Bryens and his uncle Jack (right) at the New York World’s Fair, 1964

“These ‘ordinary’ images repay close attention not least because they were never meant to be scrutinised by those for whom they have no personal significance. They are nevertheless culturally and historically significant. We can, if we look closely, see ourselves in them. They trace, in their similar but different ways, our collective, and ongoing, experience, the ebb and flow of emigration, which remains a defining aspect of our complex identity, whether Irish or Irish-American.”

– Seán O’Hagan, “A Certain Presence: Family Photography and the Irish Immigrant Experience”

Wedding portrait of Margaret Cassidy and Thomas Geraghty, with their parents.

This U.S. edition reflects the deep and ongoing connections between Ireland and America. Our selection includes images from the early 1860s up to the present, giving an authentic view of Irish-American culture, drawn from people’s own representations of their lives, made as they were lived.
With special thanks to:
Cormac K.H. O’Malley and Daniel Mulhall, Ambassador of Ireland to the United States of America for facilitating the launch; Anna McGillicuddy, Director of British-Irish Relations at the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, for her vision and guidance; Anne Norton and Yvonne Ellison, Emigrant Support Programme of the Global Irish Fund; Ciarán Cannon T.D., Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development; Marion R. Casey, Director of Undergraduate Irish Studies, Clinical Assistant Professor of Irish Studies, Arts and Science Department, NYU; Miriam Nyhan Grey, Director of Graduate Studies MA in Irish and Irish-American Studies, Associate Director, Glucksman Ireland House, NYU; Timothy V. Johnson, Tamiment Library, NYU; and The Consulate General of Ireland, New York. Thanks also to Glucksman Ireland House for hosting the event.

Funders:
This project was made possible by the Emigrant Support Programme of the Global Irish Fund, The Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade and the Government of Ireland.

Contributing families:
Gallery of Photography would like to thank the individual contributors and their wider families for their generosity in contributing to this book and project: Michelle Beyers & Gretchen Yohe Gutshall; Sioban Bowyer & Conor FItzGerald; Erskine C. Childers; Shirley Clerkin; Seán Conlon; Mike Dwyer; Joe Flynn; Ann Geraghty; Gerry & Rich Gilligan; Mark Griffin; Kim Haughton; Andrew & Stuart Hetherington; Aine & Brian Kennedy; Tim Kovar; David Kronn; Alice McDermott; Beth McNally; Brian Murphy; Chris Murray; Rory O’Flaherty & Elizabeth Hyun Maertens; Cormac O’Malley; Abigail Parker; Ciara Patten; Patsy Ryan.

Partner Organisations in the U.S.:
Thanks to Lillian Farrell and team at The Embassy of Ireland in Washington D.C.; Maudy Dooher, the Board of Directors and the team at The Irish Cultural Center of New England, Canton, Massachusetts; The Consulate-General of Ireland, Boston, in particular the Irish Consul General Fionnuala Quinlan; Aidan Connolly, Christine Cullen, Pauline Turley and the team at The Irish Arts Center, New York City; the Stonington Irish Presence Committee, Stonington, Connecticut; Chris Murray and Carlotta Hester and Govinda Gallery, Washington D.C.

Contributed texts:
Thanks to Daniel Mulhall, Ambassador of Ireland to the United States of America, and Seán O’Hagan, photography critic for The Guardian and feature writer at The Observer, for their considered texts.

Thanks also to designer Ruza Leko and the Photo Album of the Irish team past and present.