The Minister for Arts is set to launch a new photographic exhibition in Limerick depicting rare photos which give a fascinating insight into life in Kerry, Limerick and Clare in the 1910s. The rare photography was captured by the German born photographer Franz S. Haselbeck who has worked as a professional photographer in Munster from 1912 until the time of his death in 1973.

Mr. Haselbeck was based in Limerick city and would cycle all over the city and out into the countryside to capture the major events of the time and the residents who lived in the nearby towns and villages.  The Haselbeck Exhibition is free to the public and will run at Limerick City Hall during January and February as part of Limerick City of Culture 2014. The photographer’s granddaughter Patricia Haselbeck Flynn inherited the collection and offered it to her native city for the City of Culture celebrations.

She has said that the photographs really demonstrate her grandfather’s passion for the area. She said “The inclusion in this exhibition of selected pieces from my grandfather’s photographic equipment, personal archive of documents and correspondence, as well as books from his extensive photographic library, make this a both beautiful and fascinating record of past times with something of interest for all. I am sure my grandfather would be very proud of their use in this wonderful exhibition, especially during the City of Culture 2014.”