After almost 30 years it is a strange experience putting
these photographs into a book. Frankly, when I went to Ireland in 1988 I had
not a clear idea what to expect. Ireland was a faraway country to me. Don’t
forget there was no internet in 1988 to get information. Of course, I went into
some brochures to get an idea of the landscape and the way the towns looked,
and I read some books about the history of the country, but still it was a step
into the unknown.
I never forget the day I arrived in Dublin. I was
standing at the bridge over the Liffey and I felt immediately at home. The city
felt very familiar to me. This feeling
of familiarity never left me during the trips through the country. Whether I
was in Galway, or Cork, or at the West Coast, I always felt a kind at home: I
had fallen in love with Ireland.
I wandered with my camera through the country as a
curious lover. Going to festivals, cycling around, sitting in trains and buses,
sometimes accompanied by wife Petra and my mother-in-law, the love for the
country never disappeared. Ireland was always on my mind.
After some 25 years I came back in Ireland. The
country had changed, I had changed. But my love for the country was still
there. But that’s going to be another project. Ireland was still on my mind. It
will always be.
