The wrecks of cars abandoned in the wilds of Wicklow have a strange fascination for photographer Conor Caffrey.
On returning to Ireland to live after living abroad for many years, I was immediately drawn to photographing the Wicklow Mountains and their natural beauty. It was while I was taking some landscapes in the area of the Sally Gap that I noticed the large number of abandoned car wrecks. Last winter I started taking a series of photographs of these car wrecks near Lough Bray, at the base of Kippure and along the Luggala Road that runs above Lough Tay (all within a couple of miles of each other). It is most likely they were burnt out and left there by joyriders or criminals who had used them in a crime
Shane O’ Toole finds that the tragic atmosphere that had dogged the buildings of St Joseph’s Reformatory has been exorcised
Paul O’ Reilly previews a major exhibition of new work by John Shinnors which will open in his home town of Limerick on 19 September