Dublin photographer discovers lost time capsule

AS A young man in the 1960s, Bill Hogan worked at night as a projectionist in cinemas.

Originally from Windy Arbour, Bill became particularly interested in photography. His particular talent was in observing people going about their ordinary lives. As he worked mostly at night in the cinema, he was able to spend his time wandering the streets of Dublin during the day with his camera.

He then worked for Irish Life Assurance Co for 40 years before he retired in 2011.

When he got married to Veronica, who he lives with in Clontarf, children and family life took centre stage and his photographs were relegated to the attic.

Only in retirement, 50 years later, did he rediscover this time capsule of 1960s Dublin, and these perfectly captured small but extraordinary moments of the city in years gone by.

The candid black and white photographs of distinctive and often touching scenes in the city centre show a Dublin that is familiar, despite the five decades that separate the moments from today. It is filled with memories of times gone by; of a time when there was only one Poolbeg chimney; of a time before the shopping centre was built on the corner of St Stephen’s Green.

But it is also filled with so much that has not changed: children playing, young couples in love, homelessness. In 'A Different Dublin', photographs of mothers feeding their babies from Guinness bottles are juxtaposed against shots of teenagers enjoying St Stephen’s Green on a summer’s day. Bill Hogan managed to capture the complexities of Dublin society in the 1960s using his talent to take poignant photographs that portray emotional, moving moments and quirky glimpses into the everyday lives of the people of the city.

This is a book that will bring back so many memories to a generation that lived in one of the most spoken about decades of the 20th Century.