PHOTOJOUNALISM IN IRELAND IDEAS

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Dirck Halstead : One Thread

I AM TRYING TO BE MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT AN IDEA FOR A PROPOSAL IDEA FOR A SCHOLARSHIP. I AM INTERESTED IN DOING A PROJECT IN IRELAND AND I ORIGINALLY CAME UP WITH THE THOUGHT OF DOING THIS ABOUT THE PROBLEMS IN NORTHERN IRELAND--BUT I AM TRYING TO BRAINSTORM FOR MORE IDEAS......I AM OPEN TO HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS MAYBE SOMEONE WHO KNOWS IRELAND WELL CAN HELP ME ON THIS.

-- NORA ANNE (NORAPHOTO@HOTMAIL.COM), January 27, 2001

Answers

I don't know Ireland well but living in the UK gives you a passing knowledge. A couple of subjects which have been covered by UK photographers are the horses that people keep on the council housing projects in Dublin, and the pilgrimages to a site where the Virgin Mary was supposed to have appeared. The pilgrimage is a major happening at all times and is so great that they built the site it's own airport (Knock). It may also be of interest to look at the 'stag' (pre-wedding) parties that travel to Dublin because it is cheaper to celebrate a forthcoming wedding there than in the UK.

-- Gerry Walden (gerrywalden@cwcom.net), February 04, 2001.

The trouble with stories about Ireland is that they tend to look at a rather stereotypical image of the country, that's largely a thing of the past. You know the kind of thing - Guinness drinking, 'Ryans Daughter', leprachauns, fiddle playing...even the IRA - It annoys the Irish - they call it "Paddy-ism".

You need to do your research. Ireland's economy is booming, with many high tech industries moving in. It also has the youngest population in Europe, which means it has a thriving youth culture. For the first time, a generation of Irish are building successful careers in Ireland instead of going to the US and further afield to make a living.

These are aspects if Ireland that haven't even got into peoples heads yet, never mind been documented.

As far as Northern Ireland goes - again, it's been done to death. The conflict is largely over, and is now a political problem that doesn't really lend itself to pictures.

I live in the UK, but have been to Ireland and N.Ireland many times. My overriding impression is that the place is very different to our rather sentimental images of it.

You could try a project on the Irish Economic Boom. Like many economic upturns, it's had it's winners and losers.

You'll see the winners in the fashionable hotels, restaurants and media businesses. You'll see the losers on the huge hou

-- Sion Touhig. (siont@metconnect.com), February 04, 2001.


Nora, I'm a young photojournalist from Ireland, and I would wholeheartedly agree with the previous contributor. I believe an important part of photojournalism is communicating something that the people who see your work are previously unaware of. Some interesting contemporary issues: the impending single european currency and conflicts between cosmopolitan culture and parochialism, 'Paddyism' itself (Ireland has a very big tourist industry), the question of whether Ireland can escape the spirit of 1916, and replace nationalism with inclusion, etc. etc.

-- John Fitzgerald (jonofitzgerald@hotmail.com), March 06, 2001.

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