Capturing countless memories

                                Once digital photography took over from the traditional negatives, it was another form of technology that Patsy embraced. Although my own wedding photographs were taken by the man himself on negative, I recall him whipping out a small camera from his pocket and saying â€Å“Weâ€â„¢ll take one on the digitalâ€Â. His last wedding using traditional film was about 2004. Storing and archiving digital photos is easier than negatives and Teresa recalls helping her husband number each set of negatives and even putting the large and ornate photo albums together. A photo can tell many stories and ignite memories and Patsy says looking back over the years there have been many sad stories that followed the smiling faces. Patsy has an innate way of making people comfortable and it comes through in his photos. When wedding videos started to become requested as part of the photography Patsy fed the demand, adding his own flair for story-telling to each one. Patsyâ€â„¢s wedding videos were almost a mini-documentary on the couple and the location, and werenâ€â„¢t simply a record of the event. The biggest event for Patsy for many years was organising the Galway Rose, which took the Rose of Tralee title three times. The local organisation of the Rose was very different to its current format and when the changes were introduced in 2004 Patsy and the others involved locally decided to retire. The Galway Rose was an event like no other and it was responsible for numerous local Rose events in towns and communities not only in Co Galway but Mayo, Roscommon and further afield. Everyone remembers Patsy, affectionately known as Mr Rose and his band of â€Å“lovely girlsâ€Â. The Galway Rose was born out of a Queen of the County beauty competition held in the newly built Leisureland in 1973. The successful event organised in conjunction with the Corofin carnival was repeated the following year. In 1975 Patsy and the late Sonny Curley travelled to a meeting in Limerick to meet with the Rose of Tralee officers. In August of that year the first Galway Rose was selected and Mary Murphy, the Galway and Loughrea Rose, represented not only Galway but also all of Connacht at the Rose of Tralee Festival. The Galway Rose selection was one of the social highlights of the year in Galway and was organised through a network of organisations, clubs and companies throughout the five counties. Sarah McCartan from Corofin was the last Galway Rose of that era in 2004 and since its inception the Galway Rose became the Rose of Tralee on three occasions - in 1980 with Sheila Oâ€â„¢Hanrahan (Queen of Connemara), in 1992 Niamh Grogan (Loughrea Rose) and in 1998 Luzveminda Oâ€â„¢Sullivan, the Mayo Rose. In 2003 Patsy was given a much-deserved Galway Rehab Person of the Year Award. The award not only marked him being the driving force of the Galway Rose since the 1970s it also paid tribute to his community contributions from organising the successful Corofin carnivals and jamborees to initiating the famous Tir na nÓg alcohol-free discos in Dr Duggan Hall. Hundreds of hormone raging teens from all parts of North Galway thronged the local hall at weekends and school holidays where many caught their first shift to the slow skates mixed by dj Big Sam. Many of the students never saw Corofin in the daylight but it was the only place they had on their mind as a weekend approached. Patsy had proven he could attract big crowds as far back as the 1970s. In 1972 the Jamboree in Knockma attracted massive crowds and was almost a mini Electric Picnic of the time. Thousands converged on Bonfire Night, which saw people parade from Canavanâ€â„¢s in Belclare to Castlehackett. There were school marching bands, over 100 entertainers as well as figure dancing, food and even though it sounds like something out of Fr Ted, a priest magician. For the price of just 50p you could serenade to the moonlight, sing around the bonfire on the top of Knockma or dance on the 3,000 sq ft dancefloor. â€Å“It was a massive success for the GAA (Corofin) club,â€Â recalls Patsy, who jokes that they could have made more money if they stopped people crossing the fields to get in. Last October Patsy had a health scare when he suffered a stroke. It was a frightening experience but one from which the much-loved photographer has fully recovered. He spent four weeks in University Hospital Galway and with the care of the expert medical team there and the dedication of his family, Patsy is as chatty, informative and entertaining as ever. And of course, even in sickness, he had his beloved technology nearby with a laptop next to his hospital bed and an iPhone app helping him with his vocal and mouth exercises.