People and Places exhibition at Nenagh Library

Nenagh Library is hosting an exhibition entitled ‘People and Places: A Selection from the Kenrick Photo Collection, 1895 – 1915’, from now until November 30.

The collection is housed in Tipperary Studies and the National Library of Ireland. The exhibition consists of 30 images printed and framed for display. A slideshow of the remaining images was curated to accompany the printed exhibition.

The Kenrick Photo Collection is the work of amateur photographer Patrick Kenrick (1872-1950), who produced over 830 plate glass negative images between 1895 and 1915. Patrick Kenrick was born in Fethard, Co Tipperary. He was the son of a tailor and lived with his family on Main Street.

Unable to work in the family business, Patrick had several jobs, which included school attendance officer (1901 census), chauffeur and land agent (1911 census) for Richard Burke at Grove. He was also a remarkable amateur photographer.

In the curation of the exhibition, the selected photos were chosen as examples of the many themes contained within the collection. Kenrick photographed the full stratigraphy of social life in Fethard at the turn of the twentieth century. From the barefoot child on the street to the affluent middle-class family and their peers. As a member of Fethard Town Commission, Patrick Kenrick was involved in local government at a time of social and political change. While resident at Main Street, his personal and work life would have given him access to many people across the social classes of the town. His photographs include military and Royal Irish Constabulary members and their families, subjects not often found in the collections of amateur photographers. Images like these are what makes this collection outstanding and highly notable from a social history perspective, and they speak to the legacy of Kenrick’s work.

The exhibition showcases as many of the themes of the collection as possible. Family life, social occasions, sporting events and community gatherings are included. Kenrick also photographed the landscape, antiquarian portraits of heritage sites still familiar today. Within some of these we can view modernity and antiquity together, such as the Rock of Cashel and the first car registered in Tipperary. Some will remind the viewer of the importance of conserving what we might lose; Kilcooley House in its splendour. And other images cast a light on lives and occupations no longer commonplace today, such as the domestic staff at Grove.

The portraits of family weddings and christenings, the team pictures of early Gaelic games and group shots at leisure outings define the collection, giving the modern viewer a glimpse of the past, a snapshot of an Ireland on the brink of change.

Many thanks to Róisín and Ann Marie from the Tipperary Heritage Office, Joe Kenny, the Newport family and our colleagues at Tipp Studies (Stephanie Woods, curator).