Our Team
About Us
No, this is not 'Our Team' in the image above!
But it reflects part of our work and conditions. A photo of photojournalists and media being threatened by gardai (Irish police) on July 18, 1981, during a protest at the British Embassy in Dublin, during the height of the Hunger Strike demonstrations.
It was taken by one of our team at RollingNews.ie (www.rollingnews.ie), an independent Irish photo agency, servicing multiple media platforms in Ireland and abroad. Our archival content dates back to 1980 and specialises in politics, social issues, business, the arts and general news.
During the course of our coverage, some images have emerged, which, because of their historical significance or human interest perspective, we also categorise as 'Wall Art'.
For easy access to them we have created 'Off The Wall Irish Photos', (www.offthewallirishphotos.com) a specially curated selection which we believe gives added value to our agency and will help us continue to record all human life in Ireland with a strong, independent editorial eye.
But do note: the selection here is only a tiny proportion of the images on our main site www.rollingnews.ie which is open and accessible to browse.
History
Since we first started in photojournalism in 1980 we have covered multiple issues and seen many changes in society and technology.
Our images reflect the massive changes in a country where less than 40 years ago, the Roman Catholic Church held sway over the lives of a mainly white, Catholic/Protestant population and in which divorce, contraception and sexual relations between people of the same sex were all illegal.
Today Ireland is a multi-cultural nation which has seen ground-breaking change on same sex marriage and whose citizens have access to contraception, divorce, marriage equality and other human rights which one expects in a modern European democracy.
In politics the Irish 'Troubles' have subsided and a whole generation has grown up in Northern Ireland and along the island's North/South border, able to walk their streets without fear, never experiencing the horrific shootings, bombings or sectarian murder of the past. Brexit looms and its economic and political impact is as yet unknown, but relatively speaking Ireland was a place of peace and relative prosperity until earlier this year when we were visited by an invisible quarry, the Covid-19 Pandemic, which is now on its way to claiming almost as many lives as were lost in the Troubles.
Of course there are new social issues to face now, not least the after-effects of the collapse of the Celtic Tiger which include homelessness, suicide and lack of self esteem. The scourge of drugs and the rise of gangland crime continues, creating social mayhem and often murders on the streets. One source of terror has been replaced by another.
Our team of photojournalists, past and present, have covered it all, without fear or favour.
Technologically we've witnessed huge change also, from the move from manual to auto focus, from mechanical cameras to electronic ones and from film to digital. Image transmission has also radically changed; from the wire machines of the '80s and early '90s to desk top computers, then lap-tops and now transmission directly from the camera itself.
Camera phones have gone a step further and made the taking and transmission of images possible for the public at large, becoming the bete noire of photojournalists worldwide and threatening the livelihood of many of them. We will go on but we must change. We are prepared to adapt but it is a difficult transition and your support of this site will make that transition easier.
The incident photographed above turned into a major riot where the media present copped flak from both sides but still continued to do their job. It was taken on Kodak Tri X film in a Nikon MK II camera, from the safety of a tree, on 18/7/1981 by Eamonn Farrell. ©RollingNews.ie
Thank you.
