This exceptional production reflects the beauty of the county as witnessed, imagined and documented by the visitor and the local.
Ruth Mulhern, Tourism Officer and Creative Ireland team member in Galway County Council, who produced the book stated: “We wanted to shine a light on as many areas of Galway as possible and weave poetry in both of our languages through carefully selected images. The project was initiated early in 2020 just before we were hit by the seismic shift caused by the global pandemic. Chance and serendipity became as much part of the project process as planning, in a time where being responsive and adaptive determined the success of any project.”
With a lot of thought having gone into the look and feel of the book, thanks to designer Bob Gray, the words and images seamlessly dance together across its pages. The creative team included poets Erin Fornoff and Máire Holmes and photographer Matthew Thompson. They travelled across the county and captured Galway as it is, documenting people and natural places as well as the design and material culture of its towns and hinterlands. In the process, they have captured the unmistakable spirit of rural Galway.
Launching ahead of Christmas, as a thank you to the people of County Galway, a limited number of copies will be available free of charge at Kenny’s Bookshop, Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop and various libraries including Tuam, Ballinasloe, Portumna, Loughrea, Oranmore, Carraroe, Clifden and Galway City Library. An archive of books will be kept in the libraries too, to be viewed into the future to remind us of an áit seo, in this time.
