We all know the etchings inscribed on walls and railings declaring love and abuse. Well Luke Fallon has been out documenting them and writes,
“Dublin is a city haunted by ghosts, and they’re often to be found right under our noses, scratched into the very bricks that make our city. I began photographing carvings around Dublin years ago, and I’ve gathered hundreds of images of everything from hearts to guns, band logos to political slogans.
These etchings are often overlooked but they tell us some interesting stories about Dublin in the 20th century: a ‘God Bless Our King’ carving from the early 1900s tells us that Dublin was far from a city united in its yearning for independence, while a lovingly drawn Thin Lizzy logo tells us something about the preoccupations of a later generation of young Dubliners.
“I’m currently putting the finishing touches on a manuscript of selected images which I hope to publish soon, but I feel that now is the time to start sharing some of these photographs with others. In searching for these ghosts of a past Dublin, I’ve also found a generous city very much alive with locals delighted to point out their favourite examples, often carved by their younger selves. Individually, these small echoes of the past may not be terribly important; together, they’re a portrait of a city’s soul through the decades.”
-S.P.F. Mulligan
