Publications | Down Survey | 2002 Issue Contents

A Fine Catch: Photographing three fishing communities in County Down
Mike King

As part of the preparation and research for the Museum's 'Sea of Life' maritime exhibition for 2003, the Friends of the Museum generously sponsored a documentary photography project in November 2002, with the objective of recording aspects of the lives of three fishing communities on the coast of County Down: Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel. The project set out to capture on film the activities of some of the people involved in the fishing industry and related professions in and around these communities. The Friends commissioned Fiona Clarke to carry out the project. Fiona is a recent graduate in Visual Communication from Edinburgh College of Art, whose special interests in photography are portraiture and documentary photography. Fiona wished to capture in her photographs a feeling of 'community' in the three locations chosen for the project. Her aim was to create an archive of colour and black and white images, which would become an important addition to the Museum's historic aspects of County Down photographic collections.

William (right) and Patrick Power, father and son, wearing their uniforms of the Irish Lights. William was formerly a Principal Keeper and Patrick was a Supernumerary Assistant Keeper. Both were stationed at St John's Point Lighthouse at some point during their careers (photograph by Fiona Clarke, 2002)

An extensive network of contacts was built up during the summer of 2002, in order to set the scene for the photographic recording. The Museum owes a considerable debt to a number of key supporters who provided us with contacts for the project, particularly Bill Quinn and Lenny McLaughlin in Kilkeel, Ronan Fitzsimons, Dick James, and Noel and Kevin McGee in Ardglass, and James Moore, David Donnan and Robert Coffey in Portavogie. Although the names of all the participants in the project cannot be mentioned here, they have all been captured for posterity on film and their names have been carefully recorded on log sheets which accompany the negative archive in the Museum stores. Of course, such an archive can never be complete, and an allowance has been made for follow-up visits in the Spring of 2003. The record aimed to capture an important moment in the story of the County Down fishing industry, as the decommissioning of fishing boats early in 2002 was fresh in everyone's minds, and the likelihood of stringent cod quotas being imposed from Brussels loomed on the horizon.

Lenny McLaughlin, Chandler, Kilkeel (photograph by Fiona Clarke, 2002)

Gerald Thompson (DARD) checking Robert Anderson's nets at Portavogie Harbour (photograph by Fiona Clarke, 2002)

The project has also given us the opportunity to contrast fishing practices of the past with those of the present. The traditional images of the fisherlassies packing barrels of herring in Ardglass can now be contrasted with pictures of modern fisherlassies (and fisherlads) working in the fish, prawn and scallop processing units of all sizes close to the harbours where the catches are landed. Also included in the record are fishermen themselves, net-makers and menders, coopers, boat-builders and painters, engineers, chandlers, harbour masters and officials, lifeboatmen, lighthouse keepers, fish buyers, fish sellers and

Cyril Leathers, Ardglass with his model of a 'Zulu' fishing boat (photograph by Fiona Clarke, 2002)

model-makers, to name but a few. The generosity of all has been overwhelming and has resulted in the creation of some unique images, both planned and unplanned. In addition, a number of twentieth century images have been copied for the collections as a result of the outreach work involved in the project. The Museum is grateful to the Friends of the Museum for supporting this venture and to Fiona Clarke for her commitment to seeing the project through in all weathers. Images from the record will be used in the 'Sea of Life' display and particularly in a special exhibition of Fiona's photographs from the project, to be shown in the Museum's Gallery Tearoom.

Bill Quinn, former boat builder in Kilkeel (photograph by Fiona Clarke, 2002)

Prawn Processing at Rooney Fish, Kilkeel (photograph by Fiona Clarke, 2002)

Captain James Moore, retired fisherman, and also maritime collector, model maker and author, Portavogie (photograph by Fiona Clarke, 2002)

Portavogie fishing boat Orion being decommissioned in 1994 (Courtesy of Robert Coffey) Portavogie fishing boat Transcend being decommissioned in 1994 (Courtesy of Robert Coffey)

Robert Coffey washing a catch, while his brother George ties the net's 'cod end', on their boat the Fair Isle, 1959 (Courtesy of Robert Coffey)

Robert Coffey (right) and John Coulter studying for their Skipper's Ticket, with instructor Captain Harper (left) 1958 (Courtesy of Robert Coffey)

Mike King is Curator of Down County Museum.