Rose Shaw Photographs
Rose Shaw’s photographs take you back in time to show ordinary life in the Clogher Valley. Rose Shaw first came to the Clogher Valley, County Tyrone as a governess to the Gledstanes who lived at Fardross, near Clogher.
Rose was an amateur photographer and in her images capture local people in every day activities.
Her employers, the Gladstane’s were Captain (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Ambrose Upton Gledstanes, 30th Lancers (Gordon’s Horse), an only son, and his wife, Isabella.
After her time as governess Rose returned to the Clogher Valley on holidays. She spent her free time walking in the Clogher Valley, photographing local people in the townland of Corleaghan, about four south of the village of Clogher.
Most of her images are members of the Holland, McElroy, McCaughey and Tierney families.
Rose developed her photos at Fardross in a windowless room off the dining room where the Gledstanes kept their silver. The surviving images include a girl with a creel for collecting turf, people gathering sheaves of oats, smoking pipes, playing fiddles and melodeons, children walking to school barefoot and women clad in the traditional dress.
Less than 40 of there photographs are known. Some she published in ‘Carleton’s Country’ 1930, which had an introduction by Sir Shane Leslie and others in her book ‘My Irish Friends”
Rose moved to Bath, England and became well known for her theatre costume designs.
Miss Rosoman (Rose) Lucy Maskelyne Shaw born in 1859 Died 1949 aged 90.
27 February 2025 Workshop CLOGHER Making connections
Clones Forum joined Clogher Forum to for a familiarisation visit to Clogher to share current activities to plan deliver of the project.
At the same time an exhibition of Rose Shaw photographs was held to research and identify the local Clogher people and places. Local people were invited to help identify the people in Rose Shaw’s photographs. Over 150 people attended the exhibition and a number of family members were identified.
The forum will continue their research to identify all the people in the 40 photographs.
3 March BBC Radio Ulster
Following the Rose Shaw Exhibition members of Clogher Forum Heritage group were interviewed by Helen Mark and appeared on BBC Radio Ulster ‘Your Place and Mine’
14 – 22 March 2025
A second exhibition of Rose Shaw’s photographs was held in Fivemiletown Library with guest Speaker Lord Belmore, owner of Fardross House where Rose Shaw was a governess.
10 – 13 October 2025 Rose Shaw Exhibition of photographs in Desertcreat, Cookstown
Members of Clogher Forum took part in the opening event of this exhibition to give a talk on Rose Shaw, her story and her photographs.
This exhibition featured Rose Shaw’s photographs to over 200 visitors.
Rose Shaw – Researching the family stories
Members of the heritage group of Clogger Forum have researched the family stories connected to Rose Shaw’s photographs and produced short videos to tell their stories.
Some of the videos included family members.
View Rose Shaw photographs
View Rose Shaw photographs
The stories behind the photographs:
View Local historian Katrina McCaughey and family members describe some of Rose Shaw’s photographs on our video page
View more videos
Photographs from ‘Carleton’s Country’ (Talbot Press, Dublin, First published 1930 reprinted 1931) owned by Richard Mulligan and Jack Johnston ‘My Irish Friends’
Rose Shaw mentioned in ITV travel series of the Clogher Valley Northern Ireland Digital Archive (17:38) first shown 1986.