Tadhg Devlin - an Irish photographer who left his homeland in the early 1990s - shares the images that define modern Ireland for him: Croagh Patrick, the Blarney Stone, Maureen O'Hara lookalikes, and Ratoath housing estates
Tadhg Devlin left Ireland in 1993 to study photography in Cornwall, and subsequently worked for Magnum Photos in London. He is now a freelance photographer based in London. His current exhibition, The Fifth Province, opens in the Gallery of Photography, Dublin, this week, and explores the themes of modern Ireland and how emigrants view it.
"I started this piece initially as I was constantly being asked about various aspects of Ireland in the UK," he says. "I wanted to explore more of the country I was from - and it was a good excuse to return home as often as possible.
"The title, The Fifth Province, refers to the space emigrants inhabit so it's not an actual place but a term for where the diaspora reside throughout the world. There are 70 million people across the globe today with Irish roots, and this sometimes leads to misplaced ideas of 'home' for many exiles who hold on to a sentimental vision of Ireland.
"I left in 1993, before the IRA ceasefire had been announced and before the term Celtic Tiger had been invented. Each time you return, you seem to hold on to the memories of when you first left, expecting it to be the same, but it's not. Not only have I changed, but the country has changed dramatically since then."
The Fifth Province runs at the Gallery of Photography, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, from next Wednesday until September 3rd, www.irish-photography.com