Virtual Summit Submission

SUNY Oneonta
Fine Arts

Biography

Hannah McNally is a Junior, Digital and Studio Arts major, with a concentration in photography at SUNY Oneonta. She is a passionate sports photographer, who is currently employed by the Oneonta Sports Department, capturing everything from fast-paced soccer matches to behind-the-scenes moments of athletic life. She has just completed her third year playing for the SUNY Oneonta Women’s Soccer Team. Outside of academics and sports, she enjoys diving into creative photo projects, spending time with my family, and traveling. My Irish heritage and lifelong fascination with storytelling through images have inspired me to embark on a journey that brings together my love for soccer, photography, and cultural exploration. In the future, she hopes to become successful as a sports photographer.

Project

Chasing the Curse
This summer I was given the opportunity by the Tyler Fellows Center to go to Ireland to learn about and create a photo story about the curse that was set on the County Mayo Gaelic football team. The story is that back in 1951, the County Mayo Gaelic football team won the All-Ireland title and on their way back from the game, the team passed by a funeral but because they were still so excited from winning, they were being loud and disruptive towards the funeral. Due to this, the priest at the funeral decided to set a curse on the team where they will not be able to win another All-Ireland title until the last member of the 1951 team had passed away. Since then, the County Mayo team has yet to win another All-Ireland title, and the basis of my project was to interview locals about whether they had believed in this curse and if they thought it would ever be broken.

I was able to interview around 10 people and take beautiful portraits of them while learning about their views on the curse. I used open shade lighting to take all of my portraits because I was working on the streets and was not able to use any flash units. This trip has taught me a lot about problem solving and troubleshooting because in Ireland it rains a lot so there was not always perfect weather to be able to take photos. Also, this would affect people's willingness to stop and allow me to interview them. However, I did not need to overcome a language barrier which was extremely helpful throughout my process. Although, even if I did, photography is an international language that everyone can appreciate. Overall, I had a wonderful experience, and I would like to return to this project in the future because I am passionate about seeing if anything will change and if the curse will ever be broken. I will also be returning because Ireland if a beautiful place and is full of beautiful people with a unique culture that was amazing to photograph.