Capturing the essence of a suburban neighbourhood

AN EXHIBITION celebrating the work of local photographer Gerry O’Shea connects the threads of past and present through a series of images that capture the creation and growth of a new community.

In the early sixties Gerry, who had come to Dublin from Sligo in his late teens, moved with wife Kitty to a new suburb called Ballyroan.

Prior to moving to Ballyroan, Gerry worked as a press photographer for the Sligo Champion and the Munster Tribune, with this early passion for photography remaining until this day.

As a young family trying to pay for a new house in a new suburb, money was tight, with Gerry and Kitty helping to make ends meet by running the Rosemount Art Studio at their family home between 1964 and 1972.

The studio also gave Gerry the chance to continue doing what he loved most, taking photographs.

Most of the Studio’s work involved photographing families in the Ballyroan, Rathfarnham, area – and included christenings, communions, confirm-ations, and weddings.

Occasionally Gerry shot local fashion shows by the late Charlie Nicholl, who owned Tanya Boutique – a lady’s fashion store located in the Rathfarnham Shopping Centre during the sixties and seventies.

It’s a selection of these fashion images that make up Gerry’s current exhibition in Ballyroan Library, called Fashioning a Suburban Neighbourhood in the Late 1960s.

Speaking with The Echo about his first ever exhibition, Gerry said: “I always knew that the photographs in time would have more of a significance than they had on the day they were taken.

“I hope the images give people some nice memories and that people can take a moment to look back to where we came from.

“Think about what it was like 50 years ago.”

Gerry added: “Photography was my passion then and it still is . . . photography is a wonderful medium.

“I’m still using film. I have a digital camera, but I’m not fond of it.”

Gerry O’Shea captured on the other side of the camera aged 18 or 19
Picture courtesy of Gerry

Gerry was encouraged by son Andrew to share a sample of his fashion images in an exhibition.

According to Andrew, the exhibition connects the audience with ‘people and place’.

“Many of these images are printed here for the first time from negatives that have been hidden for fifty years,” Andrew, who works for DCU, said.

Alongside the photographs, the exhibition also features a selection of old cameras and other related items and information.

Fashioning a Suburban Neighbourhood in the Late 1960s is being hosted by Ballyroan Library until August 21.

Síle Coleman, Senior Executive Librarian with Ballyroan Library, told The Echo: “We’re always delighted to have exhibitions by local people, and you can’t get more local than Gerry O’Shea, who lives down the road from the library.

“We felt that the photographs were really unique and give a great insight into the social life of Rathfarnham at that time and the fashion.”

The exhibition is open to members of the public during library opening times.

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