Clive Limpkin
Clive Limpkin arrived in Derry in August 1969, on the eve of the Battle of the Bogside, as a photojournalist for the London Daily Sketch. He captured the turmoil of that period with intense reality and returned regularly over the next three years to record the city’s descent into armed conflict as decades of discrimination and simmering discontent erupted onto the streets.
A portfolio of his work, The Battle of Bogside, was first published in 1972 in the UK and USA. The images were exhibited in the Photographers’ Gallery and National Portrait Gallery in London and the book went on to win the prestigious Robert Capa Gold Medal from Life magazine in America. The citation read: For superlative photography requiring exceptional courage and enterprise abroad.
Some of Limpkin’s images from that time are now among the most iconic to emerge from the conflict in Ireland and will be instantly recognisable. Others will be less familiar since the first edition of the book has long been out of print and has earned an almost mythical status among collectors.
This revised and expanded edition contains most of the original images along with twenty-seven additions to complete his stunning new collection. Fifty years on, it is a fitting testimony to Limpkin’s unique photographic account of events in Derry that shaped Ireland for decades afterwards.
Amazon reviews
‘Incredible book; every pic is a classic of photojournalism. He was everywhere; the battle up close; historically very important; the text sparse but enlightening and well written. A perfect piece of history.’
‘Amazing photographs of the outbreak of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Some of these images (such as the cover illustration) are so well-known they have gained iconic status… you won’t see pictures like this anywhere else!’
‘A brilliant book with an important story to tell.’
‘This is an important document in the history of UK and Irish history that needs to be seen.’
‘A hard-won collection of superb action images made all the more immediate with first-hand captions.’
‘A fantastic photographic account.’
