Declan Kelly
A London Irish Story as told to Matthew Dunne-Miles
“I’m a very quiet person, so photography is how I express myself. It’s kind of like my language.”
"I’m from a town in Kildare called Newbridge. The Curragh Plains are a five-minute walk from my house, I grew up hanging out with a small group of friends – mostly my cousins– and I loved it, being out in total openness everyday.
There was only a handful of openly gays in the town, there was no gay role models or anyone to look up to. It can be more difficult to come out when there's no one else.
I came out when I left secondary school and had a strong group of college friends who I trusted.
Coming out as gay was the best feeling ever and I would do it again if I could.
I'm a very quiet person, so photography is how I express myself. It's kind of like my language. As a kid, if my sister had a disposable camera and had ten shots left, I would take it around the house taking photos of the dog and the kettle. I was just fascinated with it! In school, we had a camera club where we would pick new projects, use Photoshop, and I just carried it on from there.
I studied at Griffith College in Dublin and started assisting photographers and building my portfolio around Dublin. I was working for a photographer, called Kevin Fox, and assisting him in a small still life studio in town. I had no idea what I was doing and was making so many mistakes. But I learned a lot from that experience, and he was so patient with me. I feel like that's really important; make all the mistakes because you learn from all the failures. That's made me a better photographer.
Aside from assisting, I was working every weekend and took every opportunity that came to me. I shot a campaign for Dublin Fringe and made 2 photo books. I started to develop my own style.
I love Dublin, you can cycle from one end of the city to the other in no time.
I loved Sunday bingo at the George, brunch at two boys brew and knowing there was always someone around for pint and a chat.
After a few years, I felt deflated in Dublin and after 2 trips to London I had the dream of living there.
I made the move to London in November 2019. It was a quick decision, but it's the best thing I've ever done. Here you are surrounded by a melting pot of creative people that inspire me so much. Home is never far as the majority of my friends are Irish and live within walking distance!
I moved to a flat in Tottenham, it was noisy and a bit bleak.
I spent the whole lockdown in that flat and that was tough, but I thought ‘I'm not leaving. I'm definitely staying and sticking through’. I really had to slow down and every day I was doing something creative, whether editing one new photo or learning how to shoot video. Just keeping that creative spark going. I stuck it out and I'm really glad I did because it's paid off now.
I'm currently working on a new book titled ‘People’s Park' about queer identity in London. I'm photographing everyone from gay, to lesbian, to trans, to non-binary people – all in the park. I will be having a solo exhibition of the work on the 4th of September in Hackney Wick.
We go for a walk in the park, I get to hear about their story, about coming out, about what they’ve faced in London, then I take their photo.
This project has brought me so much joy in the past few months coming out of lockdown.
I feel very settled here and couldn't see myself living back in Ireland. I adore getting out on my bike in Central and taking it all in. It’s such a relief for me and I think that's something I will do for the rest of my life.
I love that freedom of not having to be stuck in one place. I can see myself settling in London, it just makes sense to be here. Having said that, I do really miss home. I miss my family, chicken fillet rolls, and Barry's Tea with a drop of milk.
To find out more about Declan's photography, you can visit www.declan-kelly.co.uk or visit @_declankelly on Instagram.
