Photographer Conor Clinch was born and raised in Dublin, but by the time he turned 18, he couldn’t wait to leave, and quickly moved to London to begin his career. This year, he returned to capture the Bealtaine Fire Festival on the Hill of Uisneach which, according to Irish mythology, has long marked the beginning of summer. He tells Bruno Bayley that he saw the festival as an opportunity not only to spotlight the history and traditions of the country, but also as a way to reignite his own connection to his homeland.
The Hill of Uisneach stands in County Westmeath, at the point where ancient Ireland’s five provinces—Ulster, Meath, Leinster, Munster, Connaught—met. Uisneach is woven into the nation’s history and mythology and has been a place of gathering and celebration for thousands of years; it’s the reputed burial site of the mythical Tuatha Dé Danann, the seat of the Kings of Mide, and a sacred site linked with druidic gatherings, rites and ceremonial fires. The latter, usually lit in late spring, marked the end of winter and welcomed summer, signalling the return of livestock to the fields. Analogous to May Day, such events are intertwined with the ancient pagan festival of Bealtaine, celebrated throughout the celtic world, where these fires served as focal points for ritual cleansing of cattle, feasting, recitals, games and performance.