The Curragh, Co. Kildare from the series The Handball Alley, 2013
Kenneth O’Halloran
Kenneth O’Halloran, The Curragh, Co. Kildare from the series The Handball Alley, 2013
About the Artist:
Kenneth O’Halloran is a photographer based in Dublin. He was born in the West of Ireland and is a graduate of the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin. He holds a Masters in Fine Art Photography from The University of Ulster, Belfast. O’Halloran’s series The Handball Alley surveys the relics of a once vibrant chapter of Irish life. The ruins, mapped and photographed by O’Halloran, bear silent testimony to the passing of time and to the changing dynamics of rural communities. Like the dolmens that John Montague offered as a metaphor for the old people of his childhood, these modern ruins are liminal structures, open- air theatres where the ghosts of a lost civilisation linger. This series was exhibited as part of O’Halloran’s exhibition Modern Ruins and Other Stories at Gallery of Photography Ireland and at Glór Ennis in 2018.
Details: Archival pigment inkjet print on Hahnemühle Photo Baryta, 50x70cm (paper size), uneditioned print, produced 2021, acquired for the National Photography Collection 2022.
About the National Photography Collection:
The National Photography Collection builds on the Gallery’s sustained commitment to supporting artists in the development and promotion of their work. Through collaboration, we hope to grow the collection as an archive repository offering an overview of photographic practice in Ireland.
As an essential critical and historical resource, the National Photography Collection is an exciting initiative for the Gallery and for the future of Irish photography. We are deeply honoured that the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins has agreed to be Patron of the Collection.
The artists featured in the Collection are:
Ciarán Óg Arnold; Enda Bowe; Noel Bowler; Ala Buisir; Simon Burch; Dorje de Burgh; Krass Clement; Shia Conlon; Martin Cregg; Mark Curran; Ciaran Dunbar; John Duncan; Tessy Ehiguese; David Farrell; Kevin Fox; Paul Gaffney; Clare Gallagher; Emer Gillespie; Karl Grimes; Anthony Haughey; Seán Hillen; Patrick Hogan; Tobi Isaac-Irein; Dragana Jurišić; Jamin Keogh; Jialin Long; Markéta Luskačová; Shane Lynam; Alen MacWeeney; Dara McGrath; Moira McIver; Yvette Monahan; Tony Murray; Brian Newman; Kate Nolan; Miriam O'Connor; Kenneth O'Halloran; Mandy O'Neill; Tony O'Shea; Pete Smyth; Nigel Swann; Harry Thuillier Jr; George Voronov and Róisín White.