Old Ireland in Colour, a photography exhibition featuring work from the best-selling books of the same name, launched at Kylemore Abbey this week. The exhibition will run until late Autumn 2025 in the Victorian castle and will be part of the heritage experience which welcomes over 500,000 visitors each year.
The Old Ireland in Colour exhibition is based on the book series by University of Galway academics, Professor John Breslin and Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley, featuring colourised black and white photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibition includes a previously unseen image of Pollacappul Lake in front of Kylemore Castle, with the tower of the estate’s neo-Gothic Church stretching above the trees.
"We strongly believe that viewing the past through the lens of colour, using a combination of AI technologies plus human creativity, engages more people – democratising history – and connects us to the past more than ever before," said co-author Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley. "We were so overwhelmed with the positive response to the Old Ireland in Colour books, never expecting it to become such a publishing phenomenon over the past few years."
Kylemore’s Abbess, Mother Karol O’Connell OSB, welcoming the exhibition said: “We are so pleased to host this beautiful and interesting exhibition in Kylemore’s new cultural space, Fordham Hall, a place where Kylemore has welcomed the world for over 150 years. We are delighted that the local community and visitors will be able to enjoy the Old Ireland In Colour exhibition here, and to see Ireland’s past in this fresh new way, through the photographs and text in this exhibition.”
Cllr Eileen Mannion, Catherine Gagneux, Honorary Consul of France in Connacht and Donegal, past pupils of Kylemore Abbey School and members of the Benedictine community were among those who attended the launch, which featured a moderated discussion with Professor John Breslin and Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley and Liz McConnell on the Old Ireland in Colour project and its significance.
Speaking on behalf of Kylemore Trust, Liz McConnell, executive director, said: “Heritage, hospitality and education are at the heart of Kylemore Abbey. This exhibition features the changing nature of Irish life, and we look forward to hosting a number of public talks focussed on these themes over the next few months. We’re very grateful to John Breslin and Sarah Anne Buckley for their partnership and engagement in this way with Kylemore Abbey.”
“We are so delighted to bring Old Ireland in Colour to the historic and beautiful Kylemore Abbey, as the project originated from colourisations of historical photographs from our surroundings in Galway, Connemara and the Aran Islands," Professor Breslin remarked. "This exhibition includes newly colourised photos of Pollacapall Lough beside Kylemore's neo-Gothic Church from a negative collection I bought some years ago, the Marconi Station near Clifden, transatlantic aviators Alcock and Brown the day after they landed in Derrigimlagh, and two future Notre Dame Presidents photographed with some of the Irish Brigade.”
Old Ireland in Colour is on display at Kylemore Abbey with thanks to Professor John Breslin, Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley, University of Galway, Catherine Gagneux, Honorary Consul of France in Connacht and Donegal, and the RTÉ Archives.
