The greatest wedding photo of all time?
This week’s instalment of popular TG4 series Scéalta Grá na hÉireann features the love story of Tom Barry and Leslie Price.
Their shared goal of freeing Ireland from British rule cemented their place in Irish history. Their love continued to grow as they aged and their actions had a lasting impact on Ireland after the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. However, it is their wedding and their group wedding photograph that continues to captivate us today.
The saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" is truly brought to life in the wedding photo of Tom Barry and Leslie Price. This image captures a moment in history that brought people together at the height of their fight for Irish Independence. A year later and the Civil War tore these very same people apart.
The photo, taken at the back of at Vaughan’s Hotel, Dublin on August 22, 1921, features the who's who of leading figures in the IRA and contains a myriad of stories and emotions. Michael Collins can be seen in the black left with his face down and turned to the side, suspicious of the wedding photographer. And where there is Collins, there is Dev and there he is, the Long Fella himself, sitting slap bang between the happy couple. We can’t be sure if that’s annoyance or pride showing on Tom Barry’s face.
When this picture is taken truce talks are about to begin between the self-proclaimed Irish government and the British government, and the people in the photo seem to be in a celebratory mood, exuding a feeling of hope and victory. However, a year later, a number of these people are dead and the rest are at each other’s throats as the Civil War rages on.
Episode 5 of Scéalta Grá na hÉireann Series 2 uses this wedding photograph as stepping off point to explore the love story between Barry and Price. Tune into TG4 on Wednesday the 4th of October at 8.30pm to see more about their lives and adventures before and after this photograph was taken. All of the other episodes in the series are available worldwide on the TG4 player now.