'There is so much gorgeousness in the everyday' says Longford documentary photographer

Oonagh Casey is an award-winning photographer with the Fearless Award and This is Reportage. From Lanesboro, and a former pupil of Fermoyle National School, Oonagh’s fascination with photography began at a young age through her father’s photography and sports photography books. That is how she started, through sports, but once she had her own children, she decided to explore wedding and family work.

“A lot of that (sports) work is over the weekends, away for long days. I kind of started to think about family work and weddings, so that’s where it evolved.”

PICTURES | Longford school performs three nights of 'Legends'

Having a degree in social care, Oonagh then went to the North-West Regional College in Derry city. There, she studied photography part-time across two years, followed by mentorships and online courses. Now, she covers documentary photography, which is capturing memories without direction, no artificial lighting or staged sets. Everything is natural.

As a member of This is Reportage and Fearless, she is able to submit her works into their competitions, which include worldwide photographers. In 2024, she won the This is Reportage ‘Top 100 Photographers in the World’ for her entry. She has won numerous others, which can be found on the homepage of her website.

Most recently, she is proud of her pieces being shown in Ballinasloe Portiuncula Hospital, in their wellness ward corridor. Prompted for relatable and local, one of her pieces is at the top of the corridor, and another is at the end.

“Both are scenes that the hospital feels are relatable to the patients. They have patients from rural areas. One of the photographs is of a father and son, the son’s wedding morning, they were walking the fields in Lanesboro. The second is two fishermen on Lough Ree after a day's fishing. It was a great project. I was taken back when I saw my work on a large scale. I’m really proud of that.”

Read more: 'People do things a lot faster with ChatGPT': Innovative Longford business making waves

As a documentary photographer, Oonagh wishes that people would approach a photographer.

“People tend to not appreciate the little things when it comes to photography. People think they should look a certain way; kids should behave. There is so much gorgeousness in the everyday, ordinary stuff. I’d love it if I can convince someone to book for one hour with a photographer to show how things can be lovely without feeling under pressure. I get a lot of kids with special needs, because I can go into their house as they are without kids changing their routine. It’s a nice, relaxed way of photographing people. I’d love to convince people to book more sessions and see themselves the way they are.”