Latest news with #Athy
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Photographer John Minihan: ‘I've seen a lot of heartache in my life but I've never been unhappy'
How agreeable are you? It's been one of my problems all of my life – I rarely say no to anything. I have done, of course, but generally speaking, I'm one of those affable human beings. I like to please everybody. What's your middle name, and what do you think of it? My middle name is Joseph. I'm quite fond of it, John Joseph Minihan. It has a religious inflection, and that pleases me. Where is your favourite place in Ireland? My favourite place in Ireland has to be Athy, Co Kildare. I was born in Dublin, but after my father died, my mother left me to be reared in Athy by my aunt and uncle. That was the starting point for my sense of vision. I lived in my eyes in that town, and experienced events there as a child that had a profound effect on me. So much so, that I spent 34 years photographing the town, photographing love, life and death there. The photographs are in Shadows from the Pale: Portrait of an Irish Town, which was published by Secker & Warburg in 1996. Describe yourself in three words. I am blessed. READ MORE When did you last get angry? I got angry about 15 minutes ago because I am a photojournalist newshound, and I can't stay away from the news. I was watching CNN and saw the barbarous slaughtering of innocent children strewn around that arid desert called Gaza. It's just awful. What have you lost that you would like to have back? When you say something like that, it seems a bit frivolous to me. But it's the people in my life, my aunt and uncle, and a very good friend, a very courageous man who died years ago from cancer. I mean, it's only people I'd like to have back. Artefacts? Not at all. They come and go, and they're replaceable. You go on the journey with people you love and who have been a contributing factor in your life. What is your strongest childhood memory? My strongest childhood memory is being in Athy with my aunt and uncle, and, absolutely, just being loved. My mother left me, remarried, went to England and had another three sons. After that, I met my mother only once, in Dublin, in Kimmage – she came over to visit one of her sisters. I was about six or seven, and on the mantelpiece was a photograph of my mother and father on their wedding day. I was just there, I think I was sitting down, and my mother looked at me and said, 'You're not as handsome as your father.' I looked at her and I knew at that moment she said something that wasn't a loving statement from a mother to her son. At that point, I realised the journey for me was going to take a few extra furlongs. Samual Beckett. Photograph: John Minihan Where do you come in your family's birth order, and has this defined you? I have three half-brothers, and we keep in touch; we phone and text. Being the firstborn, and after my father died, however, I felt I was on my own. No question about it. What do you expect to happen when you die? I expect to die with a smile on my face. Simple as that. When were you happiest? I've seen a lot of heartache in my life, and I've seen a lot of awful things happen, but I've never really been unhappy. My energy, the idea that even now, at nearly 80 years of age, to be able to get on to an aeroplane, to go and take photographs of what I really enjoy – the most recent of which was of Gary Oldman in Mr [Samuel] Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape in York – is just wonderful. Lady Diana Spencer. Photograph: John Minihan Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life? I never think about something like that. My greatest achievement is to have seen my pictures in print hanging on walls, be it in pubs, galleries, museums or institutions that celebrate photography. An actor in a biopic? That's a bit of a silly question. What is your biggest career/personal regret? I regret nothing, and I'm marching on. As I said, the only thing I want is that when I die, God will call me. I want to go to bed, lights out, and have a smile on my face. I want all my loved ones not to worry about me. I'll be happy if someone just says a prayer. Have you any psychological quirks? I have a particular interest in photographing religious artefacts. I'll photograph statues or something like the Corpus Christi processions in Schull or Ballydehob. Some people find that rather odd, or that Minihan has lost the plot. I don't know why they should think that, because every time I go out with a camera and photograph something, I feel that I'm giving something back. In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea.
BreakingNews.ie
25-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Bernie and Jane Sanders attend plaque unveiling in Co Kildare
US senator Bernie Sanders has accompanied his wife Jane to a Co Kildare town where she traces her roots for the unveiling of plaque commemorating an anti-war song. Dr Jane O'Meara Sanders, an activist and political strategist, has ancestral links to Athy. Advertisement The couple were special guests at St Michael's Cemetery in the town for the unveiling of the plaque dedicated to the 19th century anti-war folk song 'Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye'. The crowd at the St Michael's Cemetery war memorial at the unveiling of the plaque for the anti-war song in Athy, Co Kildare (PA) The song tells the story of a woman who, on the road to Athy, meets a former lover who has returned from war badly injured. The plaque is part of the Made Of Athy Project, a local initiative that recognises people with links to the town who have made significant contributions to world culture. Mr and Mrs Sanders attended the event during their short visit to Ireland. Advertisement On Saturday evening, the 83-year-old US senator urged working people in Ireland and across the world to unite to stop the rise of oligarchy as he delivered a keynote speech in Dublin. He used an address at the Robert Tressell Festival at Liberty Hall to criticise what he characterised as a new generation of billionaires who do not believe in government or democracy. Mr Sanders also expressed concern that artificial intelligence and new technology were being used against working people, to take their jobs, rather than being harnessed to benefit workers and generate wealth across society.
RTÉ News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Sanders to unveil 'Johnny I hardly knew ye' plaque in Athy
Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane O'Meara Sanders are due to unveil a plaque commemorating the song 'Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye' in Athy Co Kildare this afternoon. The US Senator's visit is part of the 'Made of Athy' campaign, which, since it began in 2018, has seen the town erect some 26 plaques in honour of notable figures with a connection to the town. Senator Sanders' wife Jane O'Meara Sanders can directly trace her ancestors, the Coyles, back to the south Kildare town. Written in the 19th century, 'Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye', an Irish anti-war folk song, tells the story of an Athy woman who reunites with her lover Johnny, now unrecognisable after returning from war. A plaque commemorating the song will be officially unveiled at 3pm at St Michael's Cemetery - followed by a traditional music session in the nearby O'Brien's pub. Before that, Senator Sanders and Ms O'Meara-Sanders will give an address to the public in Athy Library at 2pm. They will be joined at the event by Made of Athy founder Colm Walsh, and the Mayor of Athy, Cllr Aoife Breslin. Other musical figures commemorated by the Made of Athy campaign include Johnny Marr, guitarist of The Smiths, Buzzcocks drummer John Maher, and Stones Roses bassist, Gary "Mani" Mountfield. Yesterday Senator Sanders delivered a keynote address at the Robert Tressell Festival at Liberty Hall in Dublin. The event brought together trade unionists and labour activists from Ireland and abroad. Senator Sanders is due to meet President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin tomorrow. President Higgins previously met Senator Sanders during his visits to Ireland in February 2024 and June 2017.
