John Cleary’s New Book Is A Picture Perfect Gift For Christmas

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Launching John Cleary’s latest book at Blennerville Windmill on Saturday were County Librarian Tommy O’Connor, Radio Kerry’s Deirdre Walsh, John Cleary and The Kerryman’s Tommy King. Photo by Dermot Crean

By Con Dennehy

Top Kerry photographer John Cleary has a keen eye for catching day to day life in Kerry and has now produced some of his stunning images in his fifth book which is set to take Kerry by storm.

Every Picture Tells A Story, is the latest gem from the lens of the renowned Tralee-based photographer which features more than 300 stunning images capturing life in Tralee and North Kerry in a variety of social, sporting and community settings.

No stranger to publishing, John Cleary has published four other magnificent photographic books which have all been Christmas bestsellers in the county

Through The Lens, the first book launched in 2016, featured some of his extensive archive and images taken in the 1970s. This was followed in 2017 by T’was Only Like Yesterday, As Time Goes By (2018) and Tralee In The Good Old Days (2019).

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John Cleary has been involved in photography for the past 50 years as a wedding photographer, capturing more than 2,150 happy couples on their special day, and as an established and highly respected press photographer.

“Life can be a rollercoaster for many people, however for a photographer they have a unique place in Kerry sporting and cultural folklore. I have been honoured, privileged and humbled to have been part of so many happy and indeed sad occasions. I have made lifelong friends in the process and I wanted to share my love of photography and the images I photgraphed with the wider public,” said John.

“Naturally, Tralee features prominently in my archives. All my books are a pictorial history of Tralee, Kerry and its people. Photographs to catch the eye include GAA teams, sports images, community groups, youth groups and a mixture of images from all over Kerry. This new book will bring people on an amazing photographic journey as they seek out family and friends in the hundreds of quality photographs scattered through this publication. The response to my first four books was phenomenal and I expect the reaction to this book to be even better.”

Every Picture Tells A Story, also features interviews with some well known Tralee people including auctioneer Trevor Giles; John Lynch, postman and musician; Jimmy Leahy, former president Rose of Tralee; historian Sean Seosamh O Conchubhair; GAA star Mikey Sheehy, historian Ryle Dwyer and endurance swimmer Mags O’Sullivan.

“For me the highlight each year was the public launch of the book where I got the opportunity to meet lifelong friends at the function. Sadly, due to Covid 19, there will be no public launch but in keeping with tradition my dear friends and Radio Kerry presenter and journalist Deirdre Walsh obliged to launch the book atBlennerville Windmill with Tommy King, book designer and Tommy O’Connor, Kerry County Librarian.”

• The book will be available in O’Mahony’s Bookshop on Castle Street, First Chapter in Manor West Shopping Centre, Cleary’s Photography on Russell Street and the Quality Framing Company on Matt Talbot Road from next week.

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