Photo Museum Ireland presents the premiere exhibition of Shane Hynan’s Beneath | Beofhód, a landmark, decade-long project exploring the social, cultural, and historical importance of peat bogs in the Irish Midlands.

‘Beofhód’, an Irish word meaning ‘life beneath the sod’, evokes the primal and totemic significance of bogs in Celtic tradition. This metaphorical exploration of pre-Christian reverence for elemental energies is grounded in Hynan’s commitment to exploring evolving conversations around environmental justice and our shifting relationship to these unique landscapes.

Drawing on Hynan’s authentic connection with his local community and region, the work traces the remnants of industrial peat harvesting, which brought substantial economic benefits and helped forge a strong sense of cultural identity and purpose in the area. Since the de-industrialisation of the boglands, large-scale commercial peat extraction has ceased. Tensions have emerged between the tradition of small-scale harvesting for domestic use and the need to protect remaining peatlands.

Through these immediate concerns, Hynan reflects on the endangered status of bog habitats and the evolving perception and value of peatlands in contemporary Ireland through postcolonial and late-capitalist social lenses. Bogs in the Midlands have undergone significant alteration and a move towards ecologically aware practices, with the construction of new renewable wind and solar farms, which bring their own questions and challenges.

Beneath | Beofhód is a timely and in-depth engagement with urgent issues of landscape, tradition, and community. At a moment of ongoing challenges around the environment and sustainability, restoring our ancient connections to the land seems more vital than ever. Hynan’s long-term focus on Irish boglands creates a profound sense of respect for the complexity of these landscapes, in continuous flux and layered with history.

Education and engagement: The exhibition is accompanied by an education programme that includes online educational resources, artist and curator talks and a catalogue.
Artists’ Talk: Shane Hynan in conversation with Photo Museum Ireland curators, Thursday 18 June 2026 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
Panel discussion: Shane Hynan in conversation with Luke Gibbons, leading writer on visual culture, and Shirley Clerkin, leading environmental scientist, project manager of Tóchar Midlands Restoration Project, on the imaginative role of the bog in Irish culture and history, using Shane’s work as a focus, Wednesday 1 July 2026

Shane Hynan (b. 1976) is a visual artist whose practice centres on photography, incorporating experimental elements in sound, video, collage, and sculpture. He holds an MFA in Photography from Ulster University (2019). His work explores place, land, and architecture, drawing on conceptual, performative, and subjective documentary approaches. Hynan has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally and has received multiple awards from the Arts Council of Ireland, Creative Ireland, and Kildare Arts. In 2025, he was shortlisted for the AIB Portrait Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland and selected for the FUTURES Photography platform. He also won the Sidney Nolan Trust Residency and PhotoWorks Digital Residency Awards at Earth Photo 2025, hosted by the Royal Geographical Society in London. Selected works from his Beneath | Beofhód project were shown in the exhibition BogSkin at the RHA, Dublin, and the complete body of work will premiere at Photo Museum Ireland in 2026. Hynan is a recipient of the Photo Museum Ireland Artist Development Residency, supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Council. He is also a founding member of the Tóch | Dig collective, which was born from his experiences of overlooked and unheard voices encountered while making his Beneath | Beofhód project. He was recently selected as a finalist in the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards.

This exhibition premiere is the first show in a Photo Museum Ireland National Tour, organised in partnership with Source Arts Centre, Thurles, Roscommon Arts Centre, the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny and Galway International Arts Festival, supported by Arts Council Touring & Project Awards.
Beneath | Beofhód is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, Kildare Arts Service, Roscommon Arts Centre, and the Photo Museum Ireland Artist Development Residency