Irish photographer David Creedon has put together an online photographic gallery called Ghosts of the Faithful Departed. Creedon writes:
It has been estimated that between 1949 and 1989 well over 800,000 people were forced to leave Ireland. Something in the order of half of this outflow occurred during the 1950s. The peak was reached in 1955 when 55,000 young people left our shores. In a census taken in 1956 the population of the country fell to 2.8 million the lowest ever recorded and led one author to question "Are we becoming the Vanishing Irish and would we survive as a race if something wasn't done to stem the outflow"?
Those who stayed had to suffer continued hardships, isolation & social exclusion. The rural communities were decimated by the impact of emigration. Many of those who stayed in this decade did so in silence as they watched family members and friend's leave. Now in a new millennium these people have passed on and their homes stand as a monument to a bygone age.
Creedon's photos are currently on display at Photofusion in London from January 23 through March 6, 2009.
Link (via
MeFi)
