An exhibition of etchings, drawings and photographs of thatched houses and ruins that have long since vanished from the Gaeltacht fishing village will be officially opened by former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr David Andrews, TD this Saturday, 6 July in the Galway City Museum at 2pm.

The exhibition, titled 'Ros an Mhíl; 1979 - 1982', is a reprise of the seminal work of Connemara artist, Pádraic Reaney, who documented the many ruins that stood in the area at that time. The project was funded originally as a result of an Oireachtas award to document stone dwellings. The original exhibition in the early 1980s focused only on etchings and drawings but this latest show sees Reaney exhibiting the many photographs that he took during that period, to support his work.

Deputy Director of Galway City Museum, Breandán ó hEaghra, sees this exhibition as a major opportunity to document the past dwellers of this Gaeltacht village, but this is dependent on the support of the community itself.

"Galway City Museum mainly concerns itself with the story of the City," says ó hEaghra, "yet the city does not stand in isolation and a key component of Galway's story is its relationship with the Gaeltacht hinterland. Most of the houses in this exhibition have vanished, yet we know that they belonged to the parents or grandparents of people who are currently living in Ros an Mhíl, or who may have originated from the area. We are asking as many people as possible to come along on Saturday for the official launch of the exhibition, so that we could possibly trace the houses to their original owners."

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