Thanks to everyone who has answered my call for help! As I
am a complete novice in this area, no information is too
basic.

Aoife



> I would like to reply to Dymphna and Aoife. My name is
> Sinead McCoole and I too have just joined the list and
> have found the topics of great interest. Thanks for the
> mention Tina! I look forward to your book, the web site
> looks great.
>
> Firstly to Dymphna, no, I can't see that a studio would
> have provided a uniform for dress up  - (maybe someone out
> there will say otherwise). Cumann na mBan in 1928 was an
> illegal organisation, anti-treaty in the Civil War and
> many of its prominent members such as Sighle Humphreys
> were being imprisoned for their activities at this time.
> (see: the documentary on her called The Struggle,
> Wonderland, 2003) This was the year after Kevin O'Higgins
> assassination - it just does not seem likely (what do the
> list think?).  The denial about membership was common,
> even among close family members - idle talk could be mean
> raids, loss of employment and isolation, see introduction
> to my book No Ordinary Women (O'Brien Press/University of
> Wisconsin, 2003).If you could send me a picture I can look
> at if for you and confirm if it is a Cumann na mBan
> uniform. A number of women were photographed in their
> uniforms. Some of them are in the same setting so it was
> probably a group from one Cumann that came together and
> did photographs at the same time - it is possible that
> your mother was given a uniform for the photo shoot - but
> it would be clear from the picture if the uniform was ill
> fitting. Most women in the early years made their own
> uniforms. There are wonderful examples in the Kilmainham
> Gaol, Annie Cooney's that she finished making on Good
> Friday 1916. Later examples were mass produced - but by
> later I mean the 1940s.
>
> Aoife - I have worked as a picture researcher for the past
> 6 years so I have a vast collection of images (copies) -
> so I am sure I can help you. As to books that look at
> photographs as sources? In my own work it was impossible
> to separate visual items and objects from the written
> material.  I am different in the sense I have worked on
> exhibitions as the starting point. My books and
> documentaries have come out of an original search for
> material. I have been fortunate to be in the position to
> collect material. Certainly photographs are an
> underutilized source - your work sounds fascinating - with
> more information on your work and I can focus my mind.
>
> Sinéad McCoole
> 3, The Nurseries,
> Ballybrack Village
> Co Dublin.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dymphna Lonergan"
> <[log in to unmask]> To:
> <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2004
> 2:37 AM Subject: Re: Visual source material
>
>
> > I'm a new subscriber and delighted that a topic of
> > interest to me has come up so quickly!  I have a colour
> studio photo of my mother taken in a Cumann
> > na mBan uniform when she was sixteen (she was born in
> > 1912).  My mother died in 1990.  In 2003 I met with her
> > eldest sister (now dead too, I'm grieved to say) who had
> a sparkling memory. She insisted that my mother was
> > never a member of Cumann na mBan, and that the studio
> > would have provided the uniform as a dress up. This
> > rings true to me, as while my mother was a staunch
> republican and we grew up on stories of her family's
> involvement in
> > storing guns in their shop in Dublin during the Black
> > and Tan era, she never mentioned belonging to Cumann na
> mBan.  The photo came to light after
> > her death.
> > If anyone knows whether Dublin photographic studios at
> the time used Cumann
> > na mBan photos for dress ups, I'd appreciate knowing.  I
> would also like to
> > know if there is a description of the Cumann na mBan
> > uniform so I could compare it with the photo.
> >
> > slan
> >
> > Dymphna
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > At 11:29 20/10/04 +0100, you wrote:
> > >Hi Aoife,
> > >Sounds like an interesting project!  You are probably
> > aware of Sinead >McCoole's work on archival material and
> photographs in relation to the women
> > >of Cumann na mBan - much of which derives from her work
> at Kilmainham Gaol.
> > >Linda Connolly and I have just completed work on a
> study of the second-wave
> > >feminist movement in Ireland which is based on archival
> documents, including
> > >photographs, which we use as primary material in the
> > book: _ Documenting >Irish Feminisms_ forthcoming
> > Woodfield Press (hopefully this side of >Christmas!)
> See www.ucc.ie/wisp for further information on the
> > project. >All the best with the research,
> > >Tina O'Toole
> > >
> > >Dr. Tina O'Toole
> > >Department of Languages & Cultural Studies
> > >University of Limerick
> > >
> > >-----Original Message-----
> > >From: Aoife Eibhlin Bhreatnach
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] >Sent: 20 October 2004
> > 11:04 >To: [log in to unmask]
> > >Subject: Visual source material
> > >
> > >
> > >Hello all,
> > >
> > >I have just started work on urban class cultures in
> > Ireland, >from 1890 to just after independence. I am
> > interested in >using photographs as source material,
> > rather than simply >illustrations.
> > >
> > >I have never attempted this before, so I was wondering
> > >whether anyone has any experience of this? Are there
> > any >inspirational books I should read? In an Irish
> > context, I >haven't come across a methodology that
> > interrogates photos >as source material, so any
> > suggestions from any specialism >would be appreciated.
> > >
> > >Thanks!
> > >Aoife Bhreatnach
> > >
> > >Dr Aoife Bhreatnach
> > >IRCHSS Post-Doctoral Fellow
> > >Department of Modern History
> > >NUI Maynooth
> > >Co Kildare
> >
> > Dr Dymphna Lonergan
> > Professional English Administrator
> > 8201 2079 room 261 Humanities
> > The Irish Language in Australia, Australian English,
> Hiberno English, Irish
> > Australian writing
> >
> >

Dr Aoife Bhreatnach
IRCHSS Post-Doctoral Fellow
Department of Modern History
NUI Maynooth
Co Kildare