Bounced Cheques

Ongoing project on the market area of Dublin 7

For more than a decade, I photographed the Dublin market district, drawn again and again to the Victorian Wholesale Fruit & Vegetable Market at its heart. For over 125 years, Dubliners traded within this beautiful building, filling its interior with colour, noise and life. When it closed in 2019 to undergo major refurbishment, the surrounding area has been besieged by new hotels that are swallowing up Dublin city, leaving no room for ordinary daily living.

Before its doors finally shut, I often slipped inside with my camera as I cycled to work. My photographs document the gradual decline and decay of the market and its surroundings. As traders moved out and activity dwindled the building's beauty, textures and quiet dignity began to reveal itself. My images tell the story of the market’s final days as a bustling wholesaler, fading slowly into silence.

Sounds from the market

The sound of forklifts bouncing over cobbles permeates the streets surrounding the market. Now, however, there is a new sound: the kango hammer, signalling change. Yet amidst the noise, the serenity of Brendan's Cafe remains, perfect for a fry and a cuppa. Field recordings from around the market. Thanks to SM Milligan for editing.

I have also collected discarded objects from the market, old notebooks and documents that reveal fragments of the working day. These remnants act as quiet witnesses to the past, carrying the stories, routines and voices of the community that thrived here for over a century. Each object serves as a reminder of the history embedded in this place, whispering of lives and labour now gone.

Today, redevelopment of the market is underway, but its new format raises questions. I worry that it will offer little support to the remaining local community and may even accelerate the erosion of Dublin’s identity as a genuinely community based city, further distancing it from its culture and history. I am happy to see the building getting the upgrade and repairs it badly needed and look forward to seeing the final results. This transformation underscores the urgent need to preserve what remains of this remarkable and historically rich site.

In 2022, I exhibited this work-in-progress at The Darkroom, a showing that later led to a solo exhibition there in 2023. Through this project, I strive to tell the story of a vital part of working‑class Dublin and to question how the current wave of regeneration and gentrification may or may not serve the remaining local traders and residents. Ultimately, my ambition is to bring this body of work together in a book.

This body of work was made with the support of the Agility Award from the Arts Council.