Liam Kennedy Photographic Collection at UCC Library

As part of Heritage Week, we invite you to explore the fascinating world of photographic preservation through The Rehousing of the Liam Kennedy Photographic Collection—a project generously funded by The Heritage Council.

Hear from visual artist Elize de Beer, whose recent projects centre around how artists can use archival material to interrogate and celebrate archival practices. She has engaged with the Liam Kennedy Collection over the past couple of months and will share her experience and uncovered stories.

The Irish photographer, Liam Kennedy (active 1930s-1980s), had an illustrious career of over 50 years documenting a range of subjects, from weddings to class photos, the Ford plant and Cork personalities such as former Lord Mayors. He started his career in Limerick in 1929, spend a couple of decades in Dublin and then settled in Cork documenting the life and culture of the region in the 1970s and 1980s. This collection offers an extraordinary opportunity for research into the daily life of the Irish people from the 1930s through the 1980s, capturing an incredible glimpse into recent lived memory and history.

Liam Kennedy purchased hundreds of glass plate negatives from the Larry O’Connor collection and these stunning images offer an invaluable glimpse into Irish life and places in the late 19th century. Several glass plate negatives will be on display during this session.