Small town portraits offer big window to the past in UCC

The devil is in the detail in the work of Macroom photographer Dennis Dinneen, whose images are being showcased in an exhibition at University College Cork.

Sat, 18 Apr, 2015 - 01:00

Catherine Shanahan

Back in the day, when there was no such thing as an instant mugshot, Dennis provided the equivalent of a passport photobooth service in a studio to the rear of his pub.

What Dennis’s subjects didn’t always realise was that his keen photographer’s eye often caught more on camera than they were aware of: While he took full-length images of those he photographed, they received the cropped shot.

Now, however, the uncropped versions are available for all to see at the Small Town Portraits exhibition in UCC’s Boole Library and, as exhibition curatorDavid J Moore points out, they give a glimpse of the “unique vision and playfulness” of a man who well understood the scope of his camera.

Dennis, a publican and photographer, who also did work for the Cork Examiner, passed away 30 years ago.

The exhibition came to UCC by chance — Crónán Ó Doibhlin, head of research collections and communications at UCC Library, said they were made aware of Dennis’s work through his granddaughter Ciara, who was on placement as a transition-year student working with special collections.

“She mentioned that her grandad had a collection of photographs taken in the 50s, 60s and 70s and brought in some for us to see,” said Crónán. “When we saw them, we contacted Dennis’s son Lar.”

Lar knew of David J Moore — whose own father was an accomplished photographer — and brought him on board to select the photos for public display. Lar said the reaction to date has been extremely positive.

The entire collection comprises about 20,000 photographs, many yet unseen, taken either in his studio or on location, and covering topics ranging from weddings and communions, to dance halls and sporting events, portraits and passport photographs.

About 6,000 images have been scanned over the past two years by David J Moore and Lar.

Some have featured in a book compiled by MacSuibhne entitled Muskerry Through the Lens of Dennis Dinneen, the number one bestseller on localbooks.ie. Proceeds go to Macroom Senior Citizens Centre.

The UCC exhibition runs until June 27, Mon-Fri 7am-10.45pm, Sat 10am-5.45pm, Sun 11am-8.45pm.