Richard Fitzgerald

REVIEWS by Mary O'SULLIVAN, "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine published in Dublin --

1. "Ireland - The Parting Glass, Collection of Images Celebrating a Fond Farewell to the Land of Our Fathers," photographs and text by Richard FITZGERALD. (John Hinde). "This gorgeous book is the work of a man who left his home in Kilmeadon, Co. Waterford at the age of 15. On his return after an absence of a further fifteen years Richard FITZGERALD set out to document the land of his youth when 'to a young lad in his teens, bursting with hopes and dreams emigration promised the only way out ... there was a great urgency to it all, particularly in the late 1950s as if the last one to leave might be forced to stay and milk the cows.' The first picture in the book, of his mother who died before he could remember much of her, is memorably poignant. So are the many illustrations of the interiors of abandoned homes. But on a lighter note, are happy children, turfcutters, thatchers and fellows playing melodeons. An internationally syndicated celebrity photographer resid!
ent in Surrey, England, Mr. FITZGERALD spends his spare time in Tramore, Co. Waterford these days and he has the pictures to prove it!"… (más)