Special celebration of the life of photographer and artist Harry Kerr to be held in Fort Dunree

There was widespread sadness in Inishowen and far beyond at the news of Harry’s death last month following a short illness which be bore with courage.

A well known figure on the local arts scene and in the wider community, Harry was originally from Coatbridge in Lanarkshire but had made his home in Donegal after moving to Buncrana over 20 years ago [autumn 2020] with his wife Martha McCulloch, whose family are from the area.

Having already had a strong connection to Donegal, it didn’t take Harry long to establish himself as an integral part of the local community, not least through his highly-respected photographic work at The Memory Factory.

Set up by Harry and Martha not long after moving to the area, the couple were witness to some of the most special moments in many local lives over the past two decades, capturing them for posterity with a professionalism, quality and talent usually reserved for the elite.

Indeed, at his funeral service at the Cavan Crematorium, brother Jim spoke of Harry’s “determination, and a sense of purpose, that verged on the counterproductive”, which he brought to his work at the Memory Factory, which he approached with the “not-very-commercial” mantra, “we do not do wedding photographs.”

“There was a sneaky twist to this, though,” said Jim.

“The real idea was to avoid the tired cliches of the generic ‘wedding photograph’, and aim to produce work of greater originality and meaning, ‘No, we do not do wedding photographs, we take photographs at weddings’.

“Over time, the avoidance of formula and the adoption of an anti-conventional approach changed how things were done in the area. The goal was to make proper, quality art for the people in their community.”

Harry was heavily involved with many other aspects of the local arts scene, working closely with Artlink, designing the organisation’s website and promotional materials, documenting the programme through photography and video, bringing to all of this work his inimitable vision.

He also worked on various other projects, both personal and professional, including helping create the poignant Laurentic memorial at Fort Dunree, and the accompanying online memorial, commemorating the lives of 354 men who lost their lives in Lough Swilly when the liner sank in World War I.

In recent years Harry’s focus shifted away from photography and towards film making, in particular film documentaries, some of which he worked on with the recently established Inishowen Community Media Network.

Outside of the arts world, many in the community in Buncrana will have known Harry simply from his walks around local beaches and forests, where he was always easy to ‘spot’ coming with his precious Dalmatians.

In a local newspaper interview in 2008, Harry was asked of his idea of Heaven.

In a response that would surprise few who knew him, he said, “It would be the very earthly experience of walking the dogs in the woods on a nice spring or autumn day.”

Since his death, tributes have been pouring in for Harry from far and wide, including from his former colleagues and students at the Summerlee Heritage Trust and Glasgow School of Art, where he had worked prior to moving to Donegal.

Harry was an inspiration to so many people; his photographs form an important part of the social history of Inishowen.

His films documented a wide variety of subjects, but they all had one thing in common; they told stories of the people who make up our communities.

His influence lives on.

Harry will be remembered as a generous hearted, self effacing creative man whose wry wit was enjoyed by everyone who knew him.

Harry’s family welcomes his friends, colleagues, anyone whose life he touched to gather at Fort Dunree on June 11 at 9pm to raise a glass, share some food, reminisce and celebrate all that we loved about him.

We will watch the sunset and send him on his journey; the wee boy who sat on the coal bunker in the back yard and gazed in wonder at the stars.