A celebration of Ballymun People

A COLLECTIVE portrait of 12 people who care about Ballymun and its future will be exhibited at Axis, Ballymun, from October 14-25.

The Ballymun People exhibition in words and photographs is an artistic project designed by Elizabeth and Charles Handy and sponsored by Dublin City Council.

Elizabeth took the photos of the 12 individuals, each posing with an object that means a lot to them, while Charles carried out interviews and wrote the accompanying text.

The Handys selected people who are closely involved in the Ballymun community and asked them to share their experiences of the recent redevelopment and their hopes for its future.

The featured people are: Maura Doyle, Principal, St Joseph’s School; Mark Finnegan, Sustainability Specialist, IKEA; Anne Keating, community activist; Brian MacCraith, President DCU; Fr Peter McVerry, founder Peter McVerry Trust; Andrew Montague, Dublin City Councillor; Paul Moran, police superintendent; Robert Murphy, owner SuperValu; Mark O’Brien, director, axis centre; Pat O’Dowd, Principal, Trinity Comprehensive School; Ellen Reddin, secretary, Active Living Ballymun; and Jim Woulfe, president, Ballymun Kickhams GAA club.

Ronan King, Chairman of Ballymun Regeneration, believes that the timing of the Ballymun People exhibition is significant.

“It coincides with the transition of responsibility from the regeneration project to the

‘inheritors’, those individuals who formally, and informally, will shape the new Ballymun,

? he said.

“Those featured in the exhibition are a sample of the many people who will continue to be involved with Ballymun and its on-going development.

“We are honoured to have people of such renown as Charles and Elizabeth Handy engage with the community and produce this work. They have undertaken the project for free, because of their strong interest in what has been achieved in Ballymun.

?

Charles Handy is a social philosopher, writer and broadcaster. He’s widely acknowledged as a world leader in management thinking and a bestselling author of books on the changing shape of work and business.

Elizabeth Handy has been a freelance interior designer, a marriage guidance counsellor, and is now a distinguished portrait photographer. She has published five books of portraits with her husband, Charles. They include The New Alchemists and, most recently, The New Philanthropists.