Tag Archives: Christy McNamara

THE Spancilhill Fair would have taken place this Wednesday, but, due to Covid-19 has been cancelled for the second year in a row. Crusheen’s Christy McNamara has come up with a mixed media piece as an artistic response to the absence of the Fair, drawing on his experience of photographing it for more than 30 years and attending it for even longer. Having grown up just a few miles from the site of the Fair, it was one of the highlights of the year for him as a boy, and he has always had a great fondness for it. “I love it. I’ve been going to it since I was a young fella. When we were growing up our house was on the way to Spancilhill for a lot of people. “One of the things I remember vividly was the Travelling people on their way to Spancilhill passing our house in convoy, with horsedrawn barrel tents and flat cars. “It …

Crusheen photographer and traditional musician Christy McNamara’s latest work will be the subject of an exhibition and a series of concerts in Toronto, Canada, from November 3 – 13. Christy has been capturing images of Ireland for over 20 years and his work has been widely exhibited and can be found in many collections, both public and private. The images featured in his latest exhibition are drawn from a larger body of work over the last three decades. ‘Where My Heart Lies’ celebrates and honours the rich legacy of music and music making in County Clare, in those who carried it and passed it on. The ‘Where My Heart Lies’ exhibition, which was hosted at glór in Ennis during Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, will be complemented by a number of concerts with Christy and Toronto musicians on the week of November 7-12 in Toronto’s Mirvish Village.

AN exhibition by Crusheen musician, photographer and raconteur has gone on display in Glór for the duration of the Fleadh and will give visitors a snapshot of the many great musicians and characters to have come out of the county. The photography exhibit, entitled Where the Heart Lies, features more than 40 original photographs, many unseen, as well as others which don the walls in the homes of household names such as Brad Pitt. He has taken the title, as well as some of the photographs, from a book of the same name which he produced with Peter Woods 20 years ago. Christy explains that he relied on this idea, Where the Heart Lies, because it was something that was emotive for him. “When you think about where your heart lies it’s home and it’s place”, and he said this idea of home is where the heart lies is what he wanted to convey in this exhibit. Having been invited …