Emigration has been a constant in Ireland since the Famine. Those left behind by family and friends suffered hardship and isolation and passed away, their homes monuments to a bygone age. Visiting these unoccupied houses David Creedon felt like an intruder disturbing the spirits that haunt every room. In some it seemed the last activity was waking the dead, closing the door and leaving the house to the ravages of time. Sometimes the last occupancy could be dated by a newspaper or calendar. Looking at such scenes awoke ...
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Emigration has been a constant in Ireland since the Famine. Those left behind by family and friends suffered hardship and isolation and passed away, their homes monuments to a bygone age. Visiting these unoccupied houses David Creedon felt like an intruder disturbing the spirits that haunt every room. In some it seemed the last activity was waking the dead, closing the door and leaving the house to the ravages of time. Sometimes the last occupancy could be dated by a newspaper or calendar. Looking at such scenes awoke ghosts from David's past. Memories flooded back, prompted by dusty newspapers or mouldy-framed images. Wallpaper evoked his parents' holiday home, a valve radio the thrill of tuning into Luxembourg or Prague. Forsaken and forgotten, the houses acquire new life in these hauntingly evocative photographs, the rich colours within the houses in contrast with the poverty of the last occupants.
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