Caolán Barron

Isabella Gerbola, Circus Gerbola, Tramore, 2023, 2023

Photograph 

"Isabella Gerbola was born into the circus. She comes from a long line of circus performers including her grandmother Mona, née Fossett, of the famous Fossett’s Circus. Isabella’s mother, Tara, and father, Mikey, now own and run Circus Gerbola – their home. Isabella, in between performances in the circus caravans, was plaiting the hair of Gabriella. You’d be forgiven for thinking that they are sisters. However, Gabriella is another circus-born girl of the Andreoli family." - Caolán Barron.

Caolán Barron is a photographer and creative director from Wexford town. He grew up in a family pub, The Sky & The Ground, on Wexford’s South Main Street, which instilled in him a genuine interest in people and storytelling. He found his way into photography by chance in 2013, after winning a bet on a horse and subsequently buying a camera with the winnings. Most recently, he featured in the 2023 edition of Winter Papers, for which he produced a portrait and documentary series at Circus Gerbola to accompany Peter Murphy’s oral history of the circus in Ireland.

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