Rose: Prose and Pose

Celebrating Women’s Creativity – Rose Shaw and Rose Kavanagh

Target group: Women in Clogher Valley as a pilot event which can be developed as a yearly event

The aim of the Rose: Prose and Pose event is to increase awareness and appreciation of the works of two Roses and inspire women to capture memories through photographs and words.

Rose Shaw 1859 – 1949 (photography) worked as a Governess at Fardross House, Clogher in the early 1900s and in her free time photographed the ordinary every day lives of mostly poor farmers in the Clogher area. Only 40 of her images exist and were exhibited in Corick House and Fivemiletown Library in February 2025.

Rose Kavanagh 1859 – 1891 (writer and poet) was born at Killadroy, she was educated at the Loreto Convent, Omagh. Her poems captured the local landscape where she was raised from Knockmany to the Northern Blackwater River. W. B. Yeats said that she was ‘a young inspiration’

By honouring the past, we ensure that the stories, struggles, and triumphs of women like Rose Shaw and Rose Kavanagh are remembered and valued. This in turn will enrich our understanding of women in history and how this has changed for contemporary society.

An event dedicated to celebrating the works of Rose Shaw and Rose Kavanagh will not only pay homage to their remarkable contributions in cultural expression but also serve as a beacon of inspiration and empowerment for women in arts and literature and encourage the preservation of the rich legacies left by these pioneering women.

This ultimate aim is to run yearly events to a wider audience across all genders and community profiles.

The Rose: Prose and Pose is a one day event on Saturday 18 October 2025 2 – 5pm for 25 women in the Clogher Valley area to include:

Presentation on Rose Shaw photography and display of Rose’s photographs from the Clogher Valley.

Presentation on Rose Kavanagh poetry

Photography workshop using a smartphone on how to capture ‘ordinary life portraits’ with tips and trick on how to pose!

This is an important message from Rose Shaw’s photographs – the value of the capturing the beauty in the ordinary rather than occasion photographs when women in particular are dressed and posed. Photographs of ordinary every day life are often missed and overlooked as a valuable record of people’s lives and yet these are the memories we have when we look back on family life. Women in particular can often be behind the camera when taking family photographs.

At a time when images are shared across many social media platforms and the pressure this places on women in particular to present a perfect image it is important to highlight the beauty of the women and men from daily poor farming communties captured in Rose Shaw’s photographs.

Anita Kirkpatrick, professional photographer, will show you how to get the best out of the camera on your smartphones to take photographs with tips and trick on how to pose! The aim is to encourage women to take ‘ordinary life’ photographs inspired by Rose Shaw. Promoting a sense of self worth in who we are naturally and not who we feel pressurised to present publicly.

Writing workshop and how to capture our memories in words and verse to encourage participants to write as a way to record important memories for ourselves or to share with others.

This is a time of short electronic messages and where greeting cards are created and written online with fewer people taking the time to write a personal messages or reflection. A handwritten message carries not only the content of our thoughts but also something more personal in our handwriting transforming a simple note into a keepsake.

Fionnuala Cassidy, author and poet, will inspire memories and thoughts and how to capture them in words and verse for special occasions, to record important memories for ourselves or just for fun!

Over 40 women took part in the ROSE: Prose and Pose event.