A sporting eye

A high and long jumper, Fionnbar Callanan, won championships while studying law. When competing he started taking photographs. A Sporting Eye shows some great moments from Irish and international sporting events

Callanan represented Ireland on the international stage in the high jump. He also won national titles in the long jump and decathlon while studying law at UCD and working as an apprentice solicitor with McCann Fitzgerald.

Fionnbarr's extensive body of photographic work was born not out of professional necessity but out of love for the art. He began bringing his fathers Kodak Brownie to events he was competing in. His coach at the time, Jack Sweeney, eventually ordered him to leave the camera at home as he feared Callanan would become distracted. Regardless, he began working for the Irish Independent in 1954.

When Callanan stopped competing he was able to concentrate on writing and photography. In 1962 while covering the European Championships in Belgrade Callanan paid a visit to the athletes village where he found High Jump world record holder, Valeriy Brumnel of the USSR, playing skittles with some of his team mates. This impromptu photo opportunity proved so successful Callanan was given a full time brief to take photographs at events he was covering.

He receiced respect from athletes due to the fact that he competed at the highest level. This allowed him more access to many of the great athletes of his day than his contemporaries. Many of his best photographs were taken of competitors he could call friends. Legendary American decathlete Bob Mathias, who won the 1948 Olympic Decathlon title in London at the age of 17, was very close to Callanan. The book contains several good shots of Mathias in his prime along with other greats such as Bob Beamon and Andy Stanfield.

In the mid-sixties Callanan's success with athletics led to him covering rugby, soccer and gaelic games amongst others. The fact that Callanan had held a couple of full time job's while competing led to his great empathy with GAA players. One of the books best shots shows four time All-Ireland winner Mick O'Connell of Kerry arriving off the row boat from Valentia in time to train with the Kerry team. In Tom Humphreys words O'Connell "dark and recondite, in his features, looks like a resistance leader being put ashore".

Callanan has always been old fashioned in his approach to his work and this has contributed to its beauty. He didn't abandon use of the more cinematic black and white until 1986 and didn't embrace digital photography until the 2004 World Indoor Athletics Championships in Budapest.

Fionnbarr Callanan displays the attention to detail you would expect from the first Irish member of the Worldwide Association of Track and Field Statisticians. His selection of photographs are eye catching, unique and well worth a perusal.

Wesley Liddy