Horgan brothers: the Youghal pioneers who brought photography, film and animation to Ireland

Long before Hollywood, three brothers from Youghal were recording Irish life, creating animation and redefining what cameras could do

Jim, Phil and Tom Horgan. Photo: Horgan Family Collection

The Horgan brothers, the pioneers of photography, film and animation from Youghal, Co Cork, have been called the Irish Lumières, but the story of their life and work might also be entitled “Tales of the Unexpected”.

Take, for example, the extraordinary photo they took in 1924, which captures a very early example of the cultural repatriation of looted artefacts. It shows a representative of the Chinese government looking at a set of ornate gates at the one-time home of Walter Raleigh, Myrtle Grove in Youghal, just before they were handed back to China.