Photographic Exhibitions: 'In My Grandfather's Time'

Photographs by Jack Leonard will be on display in The Linenhall Arts Centre and at Castlebar Courthouse during this year’s Wild Atlantic Words festival

***Note: The exhibition will be officially launched in Castlebar Courthouse at 7pm on Saturday, October 12th. This launch will be followed, at 7.30pm, by '100 Years On' – a War of Independence Centenary Event with talks by Prof. Diarmaid Ferriter and Dominic Price, chaired by Senator Marie Louise O’Donnell.

This event is supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and The Gaeltacht

Jack (J.J.) Leonard was born in Crossmolina in 1882 and emigrated to England in 1900, where he trained with the Illustrated London News (ILN) in journalism, illustration and photography. He returned to Ireland in 1906 and set up his photographic business. His work took him around County Mayo, to ordinary families who put on their best attire to have ‘their likeness recorded’; the ‘Big Houses’; the Clergy; and the local and national media. He photographed many political meetings in the lead up to the 1910 election. Politically active, he was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians before joining the Irish Volunteers. During the War of Independence and Civil War he continued to take photographs, with images including Volunteers at training camps, funerals of Volunteers, as well as images which functioned to provide panoramic views of possible ambush sites. This exhibition is a selection of Jack Leonard’s photographs curated by his grandson Anthony Leonard.

Exhibition times:

Oct 4: 10am-5pm

Oct 5: 10.30am-5.30pm

Oct 6: Closed

Oct 7: 10am-5pm

Oct 8: 10am-5.00pm and 7.30pm-8.30pm

Oct 9: 10am-5.00pm and 7.30pm-9.30pm

Oct 10: 10am-5.00pm

Oct 11: 10am-5.00pm

Oct 12: 10.30am-5.30pm

Oct 13: Closed

Oct 14: 10am-5pm