Ón Bhonn Aníos – From The Bottom Up
Kasia Kaminska
Self Published (with the support of Tulca Festival and Read That Image)
Softcover (Newsprint)
37 pages
410×300 mm
2013
ISBN: Not available
Ón Bhonn Aníos – From The Bottom Up engages with the significant yet little known history of the Gaeltacht Civil Rights Movement that began in the Connemara Gaeltacht region in the late 1960s. Due to increasing dissatisfaction and an overwhelming sense of abandonment during that period, the Gaeltacht Civil Rights Movement was established in order to give a voice to an under-served, under-represented Gaeltacht community.
Continuing to give a voice to a still under-recognised community, the broadcast industries that came about as a direct result of the movement continue to transmit news and stories of local and international relevance to Gaeltacht and Irish speaking communities inside and outside of the official Gaeltacht boundaries. The significance of these sites, of the transmitter tower as a connecting device, is crucial to the continued recognition of Gaeltacht and Irish speaking communities and their present day struggles. As Gaeltacht communities continue to come under growing pressure and to fight their own battles within, it is increasingly important to preserve and broadcast outwards previous and present struggles and successes, fought and achieved by the people of that place.
This project aims to shed light on this ever-unstable situation and to highlight the importance of retaining cultural ownership and awareness during times where there is little else a community can lay claim to. Tracing the history of the Gaeltacht Civil Rights Movement and documenting the sites of broadcast industry that came as a result, Ón Bhonn Aníos – From The Bottom Up reveals the significance of this industry to the people and the place of the Connemara Gaeltacht. This project is not about revivalism or growth but about the preservation and care of a community and a language that if abandoned, would result in the loss of an integral part of Irish, and more importantly Gaeltacht, culture and identity.
Read That Image is a collective of creatives dedicated to educating, consulting and promoting self publishing photobooks.
