PAUL KAVANAGH: PAUL KAVANAGH, who has died aged 82, was a Dundalk-based photographer whose career enabled him bear witness to some of the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the attendant tensions which arose in his native Co Louth.
He began a career in journalism in the Dundalk Democratin 1948 and also worked briefly in the Irish Independentin Dublin before becoming a full-time press and commercial professional photographer.
A key decision came in 1964 when he travelled to the Leitz factory in Wetzlar, Germany, to learn about the iconic Leica camera and bought a highly desirable Leica M2 35mm model. He learned to load, aim and shoot it in seconds and recorded a vast collection of images, some of which can be viewed in Dundalk museum.
During the Troubles in the 1970s he was constantly on call, travelling to the scene of numerous serious incidents, photographing events for national newspapers and filming for RTÉ News with a 16mm camera which he bought in 1962.
On one occasion, during a riot in Dundalk, the local Garda station was attacked by crowds who attempted to set the building alight with petrol bombs. Kavanagh escorted a garda’s wife to safety in his car and returned to the action to photograph Garda and Army riot squads clearing the streets with tear gas.
He also worked for a variety of local clients including Harp Lager and Clarke’s Shoes. In the 1970s he produced many thousands of postcards illustrating holiday scenes around the country from Donegal to Dundalk. It was a huge project which involved printing, packing, selling and distributing his work at outlets all over Ireland.
It became a family enterprise, his children helping to wrap thousands of postcards in cellophane. He loaded the boot of his car to the brim and then headed out on a delivery run.
Kavanagh built his first darkroom in his Dundalk home in the mid-1950s and later kitted out a studio in Clanbrassil Street. He also ran his business at St Mary’s Road and was joined in the enterprise by his daughter Bronagh and subsequently by his youngest daughter Paula, who now runs her own photographic business.
Kavanagh worked mainly in black and white, capturing spontaneous moments quietly and without fuss. His subjects were mostly unaware that they’d been photographed. He was regularly booked by brides who wanted to remember their wedding day as seen through the lens of his Leica. One of his photographs of a bride’s hat on her big day won a prestigious Ilford prize, awarded to him at a ceremony in London.
Some of his favourite images illustrate the poverty of the 1960s. They include a woman scraping coal off the quays in Dundalk with a pram at her side. And another of a young, tearful Traveller child watching his family being evicted from a site at the side of a road.
He was one of Dundalk’s more flamboyant and fashion conscious characters, favouring Donegal tweed woven in Clonmany and had several customised jackets made by his tailor.
The colourful rugged coats had additional pockets for rolls of film and accessories. While working on the Border he often wore a white shop coat as he felt it would help identify him as a non-combatant.
Paul Kavanagh: born May 19th 1929; died February 23rd, 2012