Come Here To Me!

The exhibition running at the National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar at the minute is well worth a visit, an excellent look at ‘The Big House’ and its role in Irish society. It is a great insight into class and power in Ireland between 1858 and 1922. It includes many images of the workers of the vast estates involved too, and the photographs are taken from the four corners of Ireland. A symbol of vast wealth, ‘Big Houses’ remain a curiosity in this country today, with a number of them thankfully remaining as museums or exhibition spaces. In some cases, they’re golf courses. Make of that what you will.

Women taking part in an otter hunt at Curraghmore is perhaps the most bizarre image in the selection, but others are striking too. Carton House, a familiar sight to any NUI Maynooth student, also features.

The NPA is free to visit, and this exhibition runs through to December. A number of images, like the one below, can be viewed over on the RTE site here.

On the hunt.