A WOMAN who is hosting a photography exhibition in Inchigeelagh has dedicated the installation to the heart surgeon who saved her life.
Martina Tina Conroy, who worked in the Citizens Information Centre in Bantry for 20 years, has had huge interest in her Remnants exhibition which runs at Creedon’s Hotel daily from 12noon to 6pm until this Friday July 25th.
Martina describes her work as ‘a poignant photography exhibition that captures the haunting beauty of abandoned houses and the stories they tell’.
She added: ‘Dedicated to the late Aonghus O’Donnell, cardiothoracic surgeon.’
Martina had life-saving heart surgery 15 years ago and she said the doctor who gave her the gift of life is always in her thoughts. Sadly, Aonghus passed away just six weeks after operating on Martina.
She said: ‘Fifteen years ago I was diagnosed with heart failure and rheumatic heart disease – rheumatic fever as a child – and mitral heart disease.’
Fearing the worst, Martina made plans. ‘I prepared for all outcomes, and put my affairs in order,’ she said. ‘But surgery and an artificial valve saved my life.
‘The man who did the surgery was an incredible human being. He died six weeks after operating on me aged just 49. I made a promise back then, if or when I ever had a photography exhibition, it would be dedicated to that surgeon, Aonghus O’Donnell.’
Martina described her recovery from the surgery as ‘hell’, adding: ‘The physical recovery happened much faster than the mental recovery.’
While struggling to get to grips with it, she discovered an interest in derelict buildings.Martina explained: ‘I traipsed around old, abandoned houses, looking at the remnants of other people’s lives scattered about the houses, all the while trying to piece my own life back together.
‘Places where life once thrived, now sat in silence. Nature slowly taking back what was borrowed. So here it finally is, Remnants.’
Admission to the exhibition is free and Martina herself will be there each day to chat to anyone who drops in and explain the inspiration behind it.
