Councillor Eimear McCormack at the Fianna Fáil National Councillors’ Conference in Dublin.

Caoimhe’s 14th birthday at her home in Corofin, Co. Clare.

Aoife, Ballyvaughan Pier, Co. Clare.

Lockdown man.

Anne Marie with her Geese

Girl in old pub,Cork

Flagbearer with comrades at the Fianna Fail annual Arbour Hill 1916 Commemoration Ceremony

jackie in bed,Station House,Ennistymon

Publican with daughter in their pub in Cahirmee,Co Cork

Chance ecounter/Man with Crutch Co Clare

Fairs are more than places of trade in Ireland. Women regard them as occasions worth dressing up for, often with great care, lending a kind of delicacy to the day, a femininity to counterweigh the spit-in-the-hand dealings of the men folk. There is a vibrancy of colour, red hair, freckles and a range of ensembles guaranteed, at the very least, to attract your notice. Many of these are travelling people, part of an ancient tribe of Gaelic nomads who have never remained in one spot for very long despite numerous integration attempts by settled society. Though they lead very simple and basic lives they have a reputation for ostentation and pomp in marking certain occasions. But there's business to be done. On days like these horses and ponies are their stocks and shares; the towns and squares of Ireland morph into their trading floors. In the aftermath of the Celtic Tiger, seen by many as a vacuous and immoral age, these old meeting grounds are flourishing arenas of openness and transparency. They barter. They laugh. They sing. They row.

Roisin, Mohill Co Roscommon

Michael sleeping,Corofin,County Clare

Nuala Mc Ginley,Galway

Fair Day,Ennistymon County Clare

Olive,Street Trader,selling dresses

Alex Small photographed in the village of Mohill Co. Leitrim with his donkey

Brothers Damien and Declan O Reilly at their home in Crumlin

The Irish humanitarian agency GOAL works with communities in Abyei, a social and economic bridge between North and South Sudan, to develop safe water systems. Here, a GOAL volunteer hands out soap at a health clinic.

Gold medal winners in the Irish Dancesport Federation’s Leinster Dancesport Trophies Competition, at Roadstone Group Sports Club, Kingswood, Dublin.

A butcher in his abattoir.

A microphone stands ready for the visit by the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to Cornafulla National School, Athlone, during the General Election campaign of May 2007

Two young women in nurses' uniforms in Temple Bar, Dublin, after a hen night in 2006

A man is treated in an ambulance after a drink-related assault as revellers pour onto the streets with the 4am closing of nightclubs in Temple Bar, Dublin in 2006

A sign at the site of a planned housing development near Kilcock, Co Kildare, in April 2006, indicates the market's vibrancy during the property boom

Passers-by await the arrival of an ambulance for a man collapsed in Temple Bar, Dublin's popular nightlife in 2006

Leftover sandwiches at the launch in March 2006 of the Tallow and the Waxworks, residential buildings for sale at Ashtown, Co Dublin

A man and a woman in each other's arms in a Co Clare bar long after midnight during the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival in 2006

A young woman in a fairy outfit tries to wave down a taxi at 4am in Dublin city centre

Pilgrims climb Croagh Patrick, Co Mayo, on 'Reek Sunday', 2005. The annual pilgrimage on the last Sunday in July commemorates St Patrick's 40-day fast on the mountain in AD 441 and attracts tens of thousands. Mass is celebrated and confessions are heard in a small chapel on the 2,510-foot summit

Mourners file past the grave of the former international footballer George Best following the funeral in Belfast in December 2005

Angel Serrano of Talavera de la Reina, Spain, shortly before his death at the age of 56 from Alzheimer's in October 2004, is cared for and comforted day and night by his wife, Dioni, youngest son, Carlos, and daughter Christina. He had been suffering from the disease for 10 years

A resident of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, reclaims belongings from the ruins of her home after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 that killed tens of thousands and devastated coastal communities

Angel Serrano of Talavera de la Reina, Spain, shortly before his death at the age of 56 from Alzheimer's in October 2004, is cared for and comforted day and night by his wife, Dioni, youngest son, Carlos, and daughter Christina. He had been suffering from the disease for 10 years

Angel Serrano of Talavera de la Reina, Spain, shortly before his death at the age of 56 from Alzheimer's in October 2004, is cared for and comforted day and night by his wife, Dioni, youngest son, Carlos, and daughter Christina. He had been suffering from the disease for 10 years

Liam O'Doherty and his bride, Fiona Gilligan, both from Ennis, Co Clare, leave the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Ennis, after their wedding in January 2003

Michael and Matthew O'Halloran, who run a family undertakers in Corofin, Co Clare, prepare for a funeral in June 2002 while Matthew's wife, Eileen, hangs out the washing

A boy of the Traveller community wears his Sunday suit at Tallow horse fair, Co Cork, in 2000