The diversity of Co Clare emigration will be recognised on film when a series of photographs on the lives of the exiles in 33 countries is published in book form later this year.
The "Shoot the Scattering" project was conceived by an Ennis-based auctioneer, Mr Dermot McMahon, who was struck by how emigrants were remembered in a Holy Communion ceremony he attended in Fanore.
A trust was formed and six photographers, all with a Co Clare connection, were dispatched to far-flung corners of the globe after 301 submissions on possible subjects were received. Among the subjects are a Paris-based hurling team, a lobbyist in Brussels, nuns working in Pakistan and the Far East, a psychiatrist working with people with AIDS in Tanzania and a woman who breaks in horses as a hobby in Australia.
The places visited include Nova Scotia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Guatemala and Australia. The project will cost £90,000 but it is hoped that up to £15,000 will be raised for the Society of St Vincent de Paul through the sale of special edition books for £250 each and ordinary copies, at £25 each.
"It is about raising money but it is also about raising awareness of people and what their lives have been like and their children's lives as well, what it meant for the emigrants when they moved," said Ciana Campbell, a project team member.
The photographers are Christy McNamara, Veronica Nicholson, Mike Mulcaire, John Kelly and Eamon Ward of the Clare Champion, and Patrick McHugh, who is New York-based.
A documentary of the project will be produced by two members of the team who are involved in the media and who will use video camera footage taken by the photographers. "This footage will be the cornerstone of the documentary," Ms Campbell said.