Newly released photos provide glimpse into 1950s Ireland

Photojournalist Peter Bock-Schroeder documented his 1956 trip to Ireland

Newly released photographs from 1956 Ireland are featured in a new photo essay that chronicle German photojournalist Peter Bock-Schroeder’s Irish visit and provide a glimpse into 1950s Ireland.

In a press release, The Bock-Schroeder Foundation said: “In 1956, Peter Bock-Schroeder accompanied his friend and muse Vera Maxwell on a visit to Ireland.”

“Ms. Maxwell, who had founded her own fashion company, Vera Maxwell Originals, and whose design style had attracted clients such as Pat Nixon, Martha Graham, and Lillian Gish, had traveled to Ireland in previous years. Her acquaintances and friends included President O'Kelly and William Robert Fitzgerald Collis.”

President O'Kelly shows his guest his personal copy of the Proclamation of the Republic. (Bock-Schroeder Foundation)

Maxwell, who frequented Ireland in search of wool for her tweed designs, needed a photographer to take pictures of her models in Ireland, and also didn't want to travel alone.

“For photojournalist Bock-Schroeder, these contacts were a unique opportunity to get to know and photograph the establishment of Ireland. But equally important to him was to photograph ordinary people. For several days he walked through Dublin and documented the everyday life of the Irish capital.”

Bock-Schroeder’s photos from his 1956 visit to Ireland feature Irish landscapes, cityscapes, and people ranging from the Irish president to pub patrons.

Have a look at some of Bock-Schroeder's Irish photography here: