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© National Gallery of Ireland
, Irish, b.1961
Title
Parents Watching the Ferry to Wales, Dun Laoghaire Pier, 1985
Date1985
MediumGelatin silver print
Dimensions
37 × 25 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 2022
Object numberNGI.2022.16
DescriptionThe photograph of a middle-aged couple standing on Dun Laoghaire pier alludes to the fact that emigration was a huge issue in Ireland during the 1980s. Many young people, unable to get work, left for England on the ferry from Dun Laoghaire. The image was made as part of a commission from Abrams Publishers, New York, for a book called, ‘The People of Ireland’. De Chenu’s photographs were to be accompanied by text by Brian de Breffny. Due to the death of De Breffny in 1989 the book was never published. Between 1985 and 1988 the photographer travelled widely in Ireland photographing a range of subjects for the book.
ProvenancePurchased, 2022Exhibition HistoryThe Loving Eye, Kodak Gallery, Toyko, Japan, 1991