Thousands of old Irish photos transformed through restoring and colourising

A family of survivors from the Lusitania in Cobh in 1915

A passion for heritage and the discovery of some nifty new software has resulted in an Irish architect putting colour on thousands of old photographs, writes Marjorie Brennan

It began as a hobby but has become a viral hit, attracting the attention of politicians, academics, film directors and even a Hollywood movie star. Rob Cross has built up a large following on the social media platform Twitter with his colourised versions of historical photos, taking in everything from the Dáil meeting at the Mansion House to a 1892 photo of Annie Moore, the first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island, with her brothers.