Photos of old Limerick a ‘national legacy’

HE appears on the front cover of the book, and is among the photographer’s favourite images from that era, but efforts to identify this young boy pictured in Limerick more than 30 years ago have proved unsuccessful.

Photographer Gerry Andrews, a native of Limerick, has produced his first volume of black and white photographs in a 150-page compendium, entitled Shaped by History - Limerick in the 70s. The book will be launched this Sunday, November 25, at 3pm in the Hunt Museum. He outlines in the book how the images, largely taken in and around the Milk Market, were intended to be a “photographic record of this special community before it was lost forever.”

“These people owned very little, but money couldn’t buy what they possessed in abundance. They had character and principles,” he wrote. Dr Edward Walsh, founding president of the University of Limerick, said these images represent a “valuable national legacy that will be fondly cherished.”