Longford photographer gets snapshot of a changing country
Thomas Lyons | April 10, 2023
Shelley Corcoran is a busy woman. Her day job brings her up the highways and down the byways of Longford as she captures images from life in the county for the Longford Leader.
Much like fellow photographer Peter Parker Shelley has another occupation not many know about. However Shelley is not a crime fighting Spiderman, she is a poet and author of a children’s book
On Saturday April 15, Shelley is inviting everyone to a special day in Longford library where she will read from her new book ‘The Most Irish Person’.
Illustrated by Angelika Sowul the book celebrates the beautiful multicultural society Ireland has become over the past decade, and features children from all different cultures.
Shelley’s work has been published in many poetry anthologies and journals and her art has been exhibited worldwide.
The idea of writing ‘The Most Irish Person’ came about when photographing pupils in the junior infants: “I noticed the wonderful cultural diversity that exists within each school and thought how lucky it was for all these little four to five year olds to be able to experience growing up with Irish heritage and at the same time embracing all these different cultures in their classroom,” she told the Leader.
Although targeted toward children in the age range of three to eight years olds, all children growing up in Ireland can relate to her book: “They know children that may have moved to Ireland from Italy or a friend that has a French father, or maybe a classmate that was born in Ireland to Polish parents or perhaps a school friend with a Nigerian mother,” Shelley explains.
The author notes that all the nationalities mentioned in her book sit beside each other and play in the playground and schoolrooms all across the country.
The book’s illustrator, Angelika Sowul, is originally from Poland and moved to Longford when she was young, Shelley says this is a perfect example of what the book is about.
“The story is about two friends from Longford, one born in Poland and one born in Ireland,” the author tells, “They are having a chat about what makes a person Irish. They decide to travel the length and breadth of Ireland and meet with children of different cultures and heritage to answer the question: ‘who is the most Irish person in Ireland?’. It reveals how children in Ireland today can embrace traditional Irish heritage while still practising their lineal culture.”
Shelley says there is a simple message to the book: “They friends encounter Maya in Leitrim who was born in India but now excels in sports like hurling and rounders. They meet Lei in Galway who has Chinese parents and loves to paint herself in green from head to toe to celebrate St Patrick’s Day!
“The book showcases traditions and heritage from both Ireland and abroad and at times how similar those traditions can be. You can be Irish even if you are not ancestrally so.”
There are photographs of 17 children at the back of the book, depicting the 17 nationalities discussed in the book:
“I thought it was important to show the actual children, living in Ireland, that the characters are based on. The children’s photographs on the book’s Instagram page @the_most_irish_person_book are all local children living in Longford.”
Even before the official launch of the book Shelley has received a very positive response: “I have two endorsements of the book, one is from a local council member and former mayor of Longford; Uruemu Adejinmi (the first African female mayor in the Republic of Ireland) who relates exactly to the books narrative.
“The second endorsement is Una Healy, mother of two, former girl-band Saturday’s member, singer and TV personality. Una’s two children were born in the UK and now live in Ireland which perfectly reflects the message of the book.”
Shelley and Angelika present the book to the public with an open to all reading: “We are excited to announce a book reading on April 15 in Longford Library at 12pm. This is a free event and all are welcome.
“In addition to the book reading there will be illustration colouring-in so children are advised to bring colouring pencils/ crayons/ markers.”
The author has an Instagram page @the_most_irish_ person_book
The article first appeared in Longford Leader
The Most Irish Person written by Shelley Corcoran and illustrated by Angelika Sowul is available for purchase here.