Cith is Dealán

English award-winning photojournalist, Richard Wayman, first came to Donegal through an invitation to participate in the Earagail Arts Festival of 2001. However his visit to the county and specifically to west Donegal inspired him to leave London and embark on a most remarkable photographic documentary of the people of Ardara, to capture the locals in their daily interactions. It was simply astonishing that a renowned conflict photographer should feel such a need and have such determination to record this rural Irish parish. The result is not only a fascinating panorama of one man's vision, but also a sweeping vista of a place nurtured by centuries of strong tradition with a powerful sense of identity and an individuality as it faces the inevitable challenges and changes that the new millennium brings.

Catalogue Published

Having studied photography at the London College of Printing Wayman graduated in 1986 (BA Hons). His final year project was a documentary work about the closure of Tin Mines in Cornwall, UK. The work was exhibited at the Mall Galleries in London. In 1990's Wayman embarked on a career in photojournalism for some of the world's most renowned publications including National Geographic, Time Magazine, Stern, the Independent and the Guardian newspapers. Throughout this period he covered many of the conflicts that grabbed the headlines including Iraq, Former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. But he also sought out stories that didn't attract mass-media attention, such as human rights in Turkey, rebuilding eastern Europe and environmental problems in Central Asia.

In 2001 Wayman was invited to exhibit work at the Earagail Arts Festival and his exhibition, The Kurds: A nation without state was shown at the Ardara Artists Resource Centre in Co. Donegal. His relationship with Ardara blossomed and he returned there with another exhibition in 2002 of portrait photographs of local people. He finally left London and moved to live permanently in Ardara in 2003.

Donegal County Council was delighted to publish Cith is Dealán, utilising the Per Cent for Art Scheme resulting from the housing programme in Ardara. To acknowledge a most important but quiet local contribution, Donegal County Council, by way of saying thank you, was delighted to be able to offer a copy of the publication to every household in the Parish of Ardara and is grateful to the Parish Council for facilitating this process.

John Cunningham, curator