He is most famous for the pictures he took of the Titanic. But the work of Cork-born Jesuit priest Father Francis Browne extended to four continents and nearly 42,000 prints. Hailed as "Ireland's greatest photographer", a new book has revealed never-seen-before images taken by the cleric in Ireland from when he first picked up a camera in 1897, until shortly before his death in 1960.
Father Browne's great collection of negatives lay forgotten for 25 years after his death in 1960. It was by chance in 1986 that Father O'Donnell discovered the lost collection in a large metal trunk and brought the negatives to the attention of the features editor of the 'Sunday Times' in London, who dubbed them "the photographic equivalent to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls".
His legacy was a collection of nearly 42,000 photographs, including the ones he took aboard the Titanic in 1912. Fortunately, he disembarked at Queenstown, now Cobh, on the orders of his superiors. All rights to the Father Browne collection are owned by the Jesuits in Ireland.
As a result, this new book, The Father Browne Yeats, is published by Messenger Publications, publishers of 'The Scared Heart Messenger', or search for it in the Amazon link on the right.
The full news report can be found here.
Comments