This is a very rare photograph of the three Russell Brothers together at home. This photo was given to me by David Fitzpatrick, but unfortunately we weren’t able to identify the photographer.
This picture is remarkable in many ways, but the way it captures each brother’s personality is particularly interesting.
Packie Russell is sitting down, playing his concertina and looking out the window on to the world, very much like how he stayed in Doolin all his life, played in O’Connor’s but didn’t travel despite being an avid reader with a very bright mind, always up to date with the news of the world.
Gussie Russell is standing in the background, playing the flute with his head down. Gussie was a private man who liked to keep to himself. As Michael Hynes describes him, “Gussie valued his privacy”. He only needed his small circle of friends and wasn’t interested in the spotlight.
Micho Russell putting on his coat (or taking it off!), the door open beside him. Micho was always coming and going and enjoyed travelling the world and meeting new people.
Sincere thanks to David Fitzpatrick for sharing this photograph with The Russells of Doolin Project. David also made an etching from this photo, you can view the etching here.
