~INVITATION ~ PEOPLE OF CASTLETOWNBERE PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION.

The wonderful people of Castletownbere would like to invite everybody to the exhibition launch of portrait photograph’s of local people tomorrow night, Sat, 24th at 7pm in St, Peter’s Churchyard in the centre of the town.

I would like to thank everybody from Castletownbere for all their help and assistance during my time in the town, especially those that took part in the exhibition and Castletownbere Development Ass, for organising the photo shoots and for putting the exhibition together. I would also like to thank SuperValu and Celtic Sea Minerals for their very kind sponsorship of the exhibition, It is greatly appreciated.

The photograph is of Pat Murphy, the oldest fisherman in Castletownbere, an amazing man and a real legend in the town. This is his story – 

Pat Murphy – 

‘I started fishing at 13 years of age in open boats with a crew of three. We fished winter and summer in all kinds of weather. From October to March we fished for scallops, two rowing the boat and the third man looking after the dredge, by God you had muscles from pulling oars for six months. The scallops were bagged and shipped to Billingsgate Market in London. In summer we would fish for lobsters and crabs. To make the pots we would go to the mountains to cut hazel and sally rods. I use to make four pots a day.

Besides the fishing we all had a bit of land to grow our own vegetables and potatoes. Come September, those of us who had a pig or a cow would slaughter them, butcher and salt the pieces and put them in a barrel, there they would be left for 6/8 weeks, they would then be hard dried or smoked, we would also salt fish.

The best life advice I could give anybody is to be able to negotiate with people, to work together, not against each other. That is the secret to success. My university was living in the real world – the university of life. I was born in 1928, I’m now 88 and still go out fishing.

Some people when they make money, they get greedy and they never have enough, and I can never get an answer to know – how much is enough. Enough is never enough to some people, greed is a terrible thing.’