Shining a light on the brothers who captured life in Cork during historical times

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

This quote from legendary U.S photographer Ansel Adams could appropriately be applied to three brothers from Youghal.

Thomas, James and Philip Horgan created, adapted and captured a photographic collection during their lifetime that recorded people and events that would otherwise long since have been forgotten.

The brothers made their photographs by placing themselves amongst communities to record a stunning collection of images.

The sheer scope of what remains of their collection shows us today what it was like from every angle to live, not just in the seaside town of Youghal and its hinterland of East Cork and west Waterford, but also in Ireland, at a tumultuous historical time.

I say what remains of their photographic collection simply because the Horgans were in operation for decades, from the late 1800s to the 1950s.

Jim Horgan, the grandson of James Horgan, told me the reason that most of the photographs that remain, which were captured on glass plate negatives, were kept was because they featured family members.

Glass plate negatives could be reused simply by wiping them clean, so what remains of the Horgans’ collection is thanks to the diligence of the sons of James and Joseph, and subsequently his son and daughters, Jim, Joan, Mary and Patricia.

Jim in particular has spent decades reproducing the glass plate negatives until they were ultimately digitised by Cork County Council.

It was the foresight of the brothers’ descendants that has kept the Horgan brothers’ stunning collection alive.

Now, for the first time ever, a large section of this collection is available to have in your hands, to scan through, and enjoy, as a companion to the TG4 documentary, Na Lumières Gaelacha, which is available on the TG4 player.

I had known about the Horgans all my life. I certainly knew about their cinema as Abbey One and Abbey Two on Friar Street in the 1980s when the original Horgan Picture House had been adapted to house two screens.

I had also known of the brothers’ photographs. But like any project, it’s not until you dive deep into researching that you realise just how important these three men were, not just on a local level, but on a national one.

Up to the time of producing the TG4 documentary, there was little or no information about the Horgans online - in this day and age that is rare. What did exist was conflicting.

I’m lucky enough to come from Youghal and know some of their descendants personally, so I approached them for research interviews.

Added to that were the incredible people in the School of Film in UCC, Dr Ciara Chambers and scholar Ellen Scally, who had researched the work of the brothers extensively.

What emerged were several ‘firsts’ that the brothers had achieved - they were masters at adapting photographs, so much so that the RUC enlisted their assistance to prove photos had been manipulated; they were the first to create newsreels; they created a substantial postcard business; and most significantly, they are the creators of the oldest surviving films in Ireland, made by indigenous Irish people, as well as being the creators of Ireland’s first animation.

The brothers knew their own people and it hinterland best.

Initially, they would cycle to village halls as far away as Cobh and Lismore to set up travelling light shows, which provided entertainment for the villagers, and also gave an opportunity to have their portraits taken.

What astonishes me about the photos is that everyone is so relaxed. The Horgans were clearly well known and integrated seamlessly with the people they were snapping.

Later, they would film events, but their photography business remained a stalwart.

The Horgan brothers photographs were regularly featured in the Evening Echo in the 1930s - images of places and building or people and events sent to the editor to be printed for the entire county to see.

Some photos included the woods in Killeagh, a sailboat near Ballinatray on the Blackwater, young men and boys teasing winter waves as they rose above the wall on the Front Strand of Youghal, Rooskeen Bridge near Mallow, a ‘Pastoral Village’ in Clashmore, and Barryscourt Castle in Carrigtwohill.

Some of the historical events they captured were perhaps, to them, just things going on in Youghal, but now, they have a very special significance and remain evidence of a town under British rule, or a town that struggled during the country’s drive for independence and subsequent civil war.

I screened the final cut of Na Lumière Gaelacha to the Horgan family in advance of its broadcast in the post-production house in Cork. To enable me to tell the entire story of the brothers in the TG4 documentary (their photography is just a fraction of their story!), I could only give a certain amount of time to the vast photography collection.

I suggested to the family that we should have a book published to accompany the documentary, of the photographic collection, to allow the public to view their wonderful images in their hands, as well as understanding the process and story behind them. It is fitting that Mercier Press, the oldest publishing house in Ireland, based in Cork, would become the publisher of the collection for the first time ever in The Horgan Brothers - The Irish Lumières and place the brothers on national record for their contribution to photography film and animation.