Dublin 1977

My black and white photos of Dublin and Kilcullen were taken in 1977 during my first ever visit to Ireland. I traveled there to visit my friend Jim and his family who lived in Kilcullen, his dad being the village postman. I stayed for a week or so, photographing the Kearin family at home, locals in the local bar and the local shoemaker. I visited Dublin's Moore Street Market as well as a few other locations in the city, totally unaware of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Ironically, 40 years later I was given photographs taken by a serving soldier, another friend of mine, from his tour of duty in Belfast in 1977. The contrast between these and the ones I had taken in 1977 in southern Ireland could not be greater. The second set, passed on to me recently by another ex-soldier, close friend of the first soldier and member of the same regiment, the East Anglians, add more depth again to the first set of images. To say they have been an education to me is a great understatement. As archival material they are most important, having been taken by soldiers themselves as opposed to photojournalists who have taken countless professional images of The Troubles.

John Briggs,
American Freelance Photographer based in Newport, South Wales.

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