Forgotten Spaces
Irishmanlost at the Boyne Music Festival
In July 2026, I had the privilege of exhibiting at the Boyne Music Festival as part of its Forgotten Spaces programme, a two-day celebration of music, art and heritage held at the beautiful Townley Hall in County Louth. The festival explored our relationship with places that have been forgotten, neglected or left behind—a theme that has been at the heart of Irishmanlost since 2007.
For the exhibition, I selected 15 framed photographs from my personal favourites, each taken over the past 19 years. While much of my work documents Ireland's abandoned buildings and forgotten landscapes, the collection also reached beyond its shores, including photographs from the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Together, the images reflected not only the places I have explored, but also the journey that Irishmanlost has taken over nearly two decades.
Bringing these photographs together in one space was an opportunity to look back on the project itself. Each image marked a moment in time, a place that has since changed, deteriorated, or disappeared entirely. Although taken years apart and across different countries, they shared a common thread: the quiet beauty found in places that most people pass by or never see at all.
Alongside the exhibition, I was honoured to appear in Philip Denvir's award-winning documentary, Leave Only Footprints, which was screened during the festival. The film explores the abandoned places of Northern Ireland and the stories they continue to hold, highlighting the importance of documenting these spaces before they are lost forever. It was a privilege to contribute to a project that shares many of the same values as Irishmanlost and to see it presented as part of the festival programme.
The weekend also brought together others working to document Ireland's forgotten heritage. The team behind Derelict Ireland were interviewed during the festival, adding another perspective on the importance of recording the country's neglected buildings and landscapes. It reinforced the festival's central message: that these places are more than abandoned structures—they are part of our shared history and deserve to be saved for other uses.
Looking around the exhibition, I was reminded that Irishmanlost has never been about photographing abandoned buildings. It has always been about preserving moments that might otherwise be lost to time. Every image represents an encounter with a place that has its own history, its own atmosphere and its own story to tell.
My sincere thanks go to the organisers of the Boyne Music Festival for the invitation and for creating such a thoughtful and welcoming event. It was an honour to share my work within a festival that celebrated the importance of memory, place and cultural heritage.
After nineteen years of exploring forgotten places, the journey is far from over. There are still countless stories waiting to be found, and as long as they remain, Irishmanlost will continue to document the lives we've left behind before they disappear.
