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The Sexton Collection


Sean Sexton is an Irish-born photographic collector. He has been collecting historic photographs of Ireland for 40 years. Photos from his critically acclaimed collection have been published in several books, including “The Irish: A Photohistory”* which shows remarkable photos depicting Ireland’s history from 1840 to 1940, and exhibited in many countries. His passion and expertise have made him a world leader in the field of Irish photographs. In 1997 Mayo County Council purchased 400 of Sean’s photos. These pictures provide a fascinating glimpse into Irish social life and history. They include scenes from rural Ireland including farming, religious practice, music and festivals and scenes of a way of life that is long past. In this section of the site you can view a sample of digitised images from his collection including images from Mayo such as a photo of a newspaper advertisement for Wynne’s of Castlebar, and an image of the Protestant missionary settlement at Dugort in Achill.

*Sexton, Sean and Kinealy, Christine, "The Irish: A photohistory: 1840 - 1940" ,Thames and Hudson, 2013.

The Sexton Collection

Photographs of Ireland and Mayo




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