A Look Back In Banteer

A photo of Banteer National School Pupils. Date of photo hasn’t been confirmed.

BACK ROW:

Connie Lucey, Robert Sheehan, Patsy Callaghan, Florrie O’Driscoll, Teddy Fitzgerald, John Deady, Sean Sullivan.

MIDDLE ROW:

Walter Murphy, Donie O’Sullivan, Gerry Healy, Tadhg Sheehan, Gerdie McGrath, Patrick Fitzgerald, Jerry Murphy.

FRONT ROW:

Denny Callaghan, Gerald O’Connor, Tommy Flynn, Johnny O’Connor, Ted Coleman, Stephan Cahill, John Sheehan. Thanks to John Tynan for providing all the names for this photo.

Special thanks to Pat Randles for sharing all three of these photos with us. Originally posting the above class picture to Facebook, Pat shared it along with the following words - “This is a Banteer class photo of Teddy Fitzgerald, he is top row, 3rd from right, I know most of these young boys are gone but maybe a family member may not have this photo. Old photos are wonderful memories.”

It’s very true. Pat also shared with us a picture of her uncle, the aforementioned Teddy Fitzgerald and grandfather, Paddy Fitzgerald, that was restored digitally and colourised by a relative of hers. Discover Duhallow’s Tadhg Curtin and Pat discussed the process of restoring old photos. Tadhg feels the process of colourising has it’s pros and cons. Technology today can restore past media to present day standards with such ease, but should there be a limit in how one alters past media? It’s an interesting debate to have but is fascinating either way. Thank you again, Pat, for your pictorial glimpses into the past!

Words by Tadhg Curtin