Charlie Mahoney

Bob O’Mahony stokes the turf fire in the stove. County Cork, Ireland. 2008

Charlie Mahoney is currently based in Barcelona, Spain. His clients and publications include BBC News, The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, National Geographic Traveler, Lonely Planet Magazine, The Times, The Times Travel Magazine and Public Radio International.  His most recent awards include the 2008 Travel Photographer of the Year, the 2008 PX3 Prix de la Photographie for photojournalism, the 2008 SOS Racism Photography contest and the new talent category of the 2007 Travel Photographer of the Year. He is represented by Bilderberg in Austria and Germany, Cosmos in France, Grazia Neri in Italy and WpN in New York.  Prior to his career in photography, he worked in investment banking and equity management.

About the Photograph:

“In 1890 John Joseph O´Mahony was born in Bawnea Kilbritain, a farmhouse, outside of Kinsale, in County Cork, Ireland. He was one of eleven children. The country was in political upheaval and jobs were scarce. He was the second eldest boy so he wasn’t going to inherit the farm, so in 1915, John boarded a ship in Cobh, Ireland and immigrated to America. He never stepped again on Irish soil. Today, his nephews Bob O´Mahony, age 80 and Dan O´Mahony, age 78, live in the house where my grandfather was born. Neither ever married, so they share the work on the farm and look after one another. They manage the land and animals using traditional methods and have modernized slowly. As Dan says, “while we be here, we’ll be doing it our way.” I lived with my cousins for a week in April 2008 while I documented their lives. It was my third visit to see them. Their way of life is quickly disappearing so I wanted to record it for future generations of the O’Mahony clan.”