Inspiring Kildare story will go national next year

ONE of the great inspiring stories in Kildare in the past 12 months will get a national platform next year.

Following the successful launch of The Hawk against the Dove – Addiction in small town Ireland earlier this summer in Athy, the co-authors are now planning a national campaign of exhibitions, a year-long display in the National Photographic Museum and are due in the Dail before the end of February.

The book follows the remarkable story of Antoinette Foley and James McMahon, she a homeless woman battling heroin addiction begging on the streets of Athy, and he a store owner – and more pertinently – amateur photographer, who between them helped turn a despair into a stunning triumph with Antionette's recovery.

“It all goes back to 2021 when Antoinette was in her late 20s, and her then partner Johnny were here in Athy, living in a tent under the trees in the car park opposite the Catholic Church, just the two of them,” explained James.

“Since the launch we’ve had a second print run, and sold just over 600 copies,” said James. They produced the book in April – a 132-page hardback with 65 pictures and accounts which sold for €30 and received a grant from Kildare County Council (KCC) of €1,400 to start the exhibition.

“Antoinette is doing very well,” said James. “She’s going to schools giving talks and has given the 'Hawk' talk in both Athy and Naas libraries at this stage, alongside me and Anthony Haughey, the curator of the Art House Gallery in Athy.

“She has spoken to the TY students in Ardscoil na Trionóide and is due to visit Naas CBS in the new year."

The pair have also been invited to the Dáil.

“The exhibition of the photos will go round the country, starting in Letterkenny in February, because the whole arts thing seems to close down for the winter months.

“We’re working through the arts office in Kildare, and we could be doing 10 exhibitions in 2026, we’re just waiting for the galleries to come back to us with dates.

“I do want to pay tribute to the arts office at KCC, because they have opened so many doors for us.

“And we’ve been given a residency in the Photographic Museum of Ireland in Temple Bar, and we expect a year-long exhibition, but the photo exhibition is still ongoing as we continue to chart Antoinette’s recovery.

“Antoinette’s story has caught the imagination of the public, but she’s a very bubbly character and people remember meeting her.”