Horse: The Horse and Irish Society - Hardcover

O'Flynn, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845887069 ISBN 13: 9781845887063

Publisher: THP Ireland, 2011

Synopsis

Throughout the ages the horse has played a pivotal role in Irish society. It is a ubiquitous symbol in Ireland, present in many classic depictions of Irish culture, from the loyal work horse in the field to the more urban image of the horse ascending the tenement buildings in the elevator. Over one year, David O’Flynn collected images of the horse in Ireland in these and some other less clichéd guises and discusses how the horse’s role in Ireland has changed and adapted to modern times. While focusing on a central theme, O’Flynn has collected an incredibly diverse number of dazzling photographs, ranging from elegant show jumping shots taken at the RDS to shots of Connemara ponies taken in the wilderness. This book is essential for lovers of horses and for lovers of beautiful photography.

About this title

From the Author:

The idea for this book came one dreary wet winters morning sitting in a small coffee shop in Killorglin, County Kerry.  The town was hosting a small horse market and while I was sheltering from the rain I began to notice that the people who were attending the fair didn't correspond to my stereotypical image of the type of person who I always imagined attended horse fairs.  It was a true cross section of Irish society linked on this wet winters morning by one thing only, their love of horses.  I was photographing the start of a small foxhunt a few weeks later in County Limerick and I noticed that there was a similar vertical slice of Irish society attending that also. 

The book came from linking these loose thoughts.  Even though the horse is the common thread I wanted to focus on the people.  I travelled over 8,000 kilometres to attended horse fairs, races and hunts.  I even spent time with the mounted police unit.  As a photographer I spend an inordinate amount of time just watching people, most photographers do.  We are not anthropologists and therefore photographers bring their own twist, bias even, to our work.  I tried to be fair and objective in my approach, but I liked the people I met.  I hope I was successful in my effort to bring out the gentle eccentricity of their character for your appreciation.

About the Author:

David O'Flynn is a Dublin based photographer.  He is married with two children and lives in north county Dublin.  He has had a number of solo exhibitions, undertaken commissions, both for display and publication.  This is his second book.

About this edition

• Publisher: THP Ireland
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1845887069
• ISBN 13: 9781845887063
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 96