EACH WEEKEND, PHOTOGRAPHER and filmmaker Donal Moloney shares an image with TheJournal.ie audience which reflects a small piece of Ireland that resonates with us all.
Donal writes:
“Last Saturday was as grim as it gets in Dublin town. I needed a photographic hit but there was more light on the inside of a cow and a constant softness in the rain.
“Ireland was playing Denmark at the Aviva stadium later that evening, but I knew that wouldn’t brighten my day, so I considered my options.
“When going away for a weekend city break in places like Paris, London or Amsterdam most brochures will suggest an Art Gallery near top of the ‘Things to do’ list. I’m guilty of visiting so many, but being either overwhelmed or bored after viewing the first couple of rooms.
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the work. It’s just that my head needs time to digest each painting and I’m exhausted after a dozen. It’s a bit like studying the night before that exam when you know you should have been studying for the last few months.
“I know I’m only there for the weekend and God knows when I’ll be there again so I’ll cram in as much as possible. I can’t go to the Louvre and not see the greats. However by the time I’m half way I’m looking for shortcuts to the exit, much like I do when visiting IKEA.
“The beauty of Dublin’s version is that I can visit any time I wish and for as long as I wish. And now that it has been refurbished, it’s a glorious visit.
“They say the best golf course in the world is the one closest to your house. The same could be said about our National Gallery.
“There’s also that sense of pride. I’m a modest patriot but it occasionally touches my soul when viewing the work of some Irish artists. Down the hall I adore the work of Caravaggio and ‘The Taking of Christ’ but ‘Mass in a Connemara Cabin’ by Aloysius O’Kelly moves me in a way that only an Irishman could understand.
“Sunday the sun shone and normal colour service was restored. A stroll down the canal and it’s like Saturday never happened. ”
Check out more of Donal’s work on Facebook here
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