Alexander Doussin Dubreuil, Irish, fl. 1842-1845
Title: Portrait of Thomas Matthew Ray (1801-1881)
Date: 1844
Medium: Daguerreotype
Dimensions:
Image: 5 x 3.7 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, Miss Ray, 1905
Object Number: NGI.2011.14.6
DescriptionThis early photographic portrait depicts Thomas Matthew Ray, a close associate of Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847). In 1843 O’Connell, a hugely popular nationalist, was working to repeal the Act of Union (1801) that had caused much oppression and injustice in Ireland. This image forms part of a set of daguerreotypes of O’Connell and the so-called ‘Repeal Martyrs’, taken during their incarceration in the Richmond Bridewell prison in Dublin in 1843. Like the other sitters, including Charles Gavan Duffy, Ray wears a sombre jacket with a stiff-collared white shirt and cravat.
Thomas Matthew Ray was secretary of the Repeal Association. He was responsible for printing and distributing addresses, promoting the Repeal Libraries countrywide and campaigning for the Association. He was deemed invaluable by O’Connell who wrote to his son John in 1840:‘give your best support to Ray who is just the best man in his situation I ever met with, beyond comparison the best’. A handwritten note among Ray’s papers in the National Library of Ireland (NLI 2120 TX) indicates that Alexander Doussin Dubreuil, who operated from Dublin’s ?rst commercial photographic studio at the Rotunda, took these daguerreotypes. These rare photographic images were created just ?ve years after the new daguerreotype process was announced to the world in January 1839.

March 2016
Inscription(on mount, under image): Tho.s Mat.w Ray

This website uses cookies

We use optional cookies to enhance your user experience and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services.

Details

About Cookies

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient. The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies we need your permission. This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages. You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website. Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy. Please state your consent ID and date when you contact us regarding your consent.

Necessary Cookies

Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.

NameProviderPurposeExpiryType
JSESSIONIDeMuseumUser SessionSessionHTTP

Statistics Cookies

Statistic cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously.

NameProviderPurposeExpiryType
_gaGoogle Tag ManagerRegisters a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.2 yearsJavaScript
_gidGoogle Tag ManagerRegisters a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.1 dayJavaScript