Signs Of Our Time -

A photo essay

This project took shape over a period of about 2 years, with the photos being taken at various locations around Ireland, mostly on the east coast and Dublin in particular. The main aim of this collection is to highlight the huge inequalities that still exist in this country and as part of that aim I wish to encourage you to donate to The Simon Community or any other organisations that help support the homeless.

The recession in Ireland is supposed to be over long ago, but I find myself asking is that really the case? It may well be over for some but for a large section of Irish society life has only improved marginally or not at all, in fact for some it has dramatically worsened. Homelessness in Ireland is catastrophic and continues to worsen while ghost estates remain unfinished and homes lie empty as the shortage of affordable rented accommodation continues, despite well-intended but ineffective government intervention. Our water supplies continue to be polluted and the water system remains in disrepair while the issue of water taxes has yet to be permanently resolved. Ireland still fails to live up to its environmental obligations with pollution of rivers, land and the sea remaining an issue that is still not high enough on the agenda.

Perhaps these issues have been overshadowed by the crisis in the police (an Garda Síochána), the overstretched health service, education, a background of stealthy corruption and the general deadlock in our political system. Generations have tended to look towards Dail Eireann to change things for the better but one has to wonder - is just a merry-go-round for protecting vested interests and ensuring that nothing much really changes? One has to wonder - where is the country going? What kind of society are we becoming? Is it going in the right direction?

Whether you agree with my viewpoint or not, please take a look at the photos, I think that they speak for themselves. Please click on the banner below to donate to the Simon Community - homelessness can happen to anyone and the work they (and other such organisations) do very much deserves to be supported.