A taste of the real Ireland in Sydney

If you or your clients want to experience a taste of the real Ireland in Sydney then between 16 March and September 2007, you have to go no further than The Australian National Maritime Museum on Darling Harbour, where an exhibition of the highly emotive works of renowned Irish photographer Bill Doyle will be on display.

The Islands of Ireland are ancient places and the past seems to pulse from the Celtic and prehistoric sites on these isles and they live on in the local legends, language, dances and songs and these are all emotively represented in Bill Doyle’s works having received critical acclaim and International awards for his enlightening photographs of life on the Aran Islands and Dingle Peninsula on Ireland’s remote west coast.

Bill travelled and photographed there in 1964 and 1965, visiting Gaelic-speaking communities who still followed a traditional lifestyle of subsistence farming and fishing and central to their livelihood was their distinctive currach, a light-weight canvas or hide covered boat used for fishing and transport.

The Currach is designed to withstand very rough seas that are typical of islands that face the open Atlantic, indeed, it is said that the Aran fishermen would not learn to swim, since they would certainly not survive any sea that swamped a Currach and so it would be better to drown quickly and despite the undoubted strength of these boats, they are very vulnerable to puncture!

This selection of 31 photographs captures the hardship, dignity and humanity of the ‘currach folk’ whose lives were shaped by the sea and from hand-made clothing and footwear to the limestone walls and thatched roofs of the houses, Doyle’s photographs detail the unique traditional customs and way of life of this remote Irish community at a time when less remote areas of Ireland were undergoing social and technological change.

Interestingly, Doyle’s images also capture the first hints of change, picking out power lines running to the cottages and the more contemporary clothes and hair styles of local youths and it was only one year after these photographs were taken that the Aran fishing industry began to modernise with new fishing trawlers joining the fleet….the beginning of the end of a great tradition.

Rugged, wild and beautiful, Ireland’s islands are steeped in history and shrouded in mystery and romance and for thousands of years these islands have captured the hearts and imaginations of successive generations.

Today, visiting these cultural gemstones is far more accessible with many having regular ferry access. To learn more about Ireland’s Islands visit – www.irelandsislands.com

Tourism Ireland is launching the exhibition as part of its St Patrick’s celebrations with the Consul General of Ireland, Mr Patrick Scullion at a private reception on Thursday, 15th March 2007 and at the Launch, an authentic Irish-made Currach will be on  display.

The Australian National Maritime Museum, at Darling Harbour, is open daily from 9.30 am to 5 pm. Admission to Currach Folk, is free and it runs until September 2007. All inquiries, (02) 9298 3777.

Report by The Mole