An Abbeyleix woman who photographed Princess Diana for eight years is exhibiting her photos to mark the 20 year anniversary of the Princess’s death.
The exhibit will be launched on Wednesday 16 August at 7.30pm and will showcase 24 photos captured by Abbeyleix native Michelle Rogers Dunican while she was training as a nurse in Kent.
Michelle moved from Abbeyleix to the UK in 1989. She trained and worked there and in her spare time, she began photographing Princess Diana.
“The first time I photographed her she was visiting the theatre near where I worked. A handful of us stood out in the pouring rain for three and a half hours just hoping to catch a glimpse of her. When she came out and talked to us I couldn’t believe it,” said Michelle.
“The photos from that day are terrible. I was shaking so much i couldn’t get a clear one!,” she laughed.
Michelle met Diana a further 36 times. “I always bought a copy of Majesty magazine, which published all the royal engagements a month in advance. She began to recognise me,” said Michelle.
Michelle even has photos of herself and Diana together.
“I was always a huge fan of her. My mum gave me a book about Princess Diana’s and Prince Charles’ Royal Wedding in 1981 and since then I always admired her,” she said.
Even greater in real life
“All the adjectives to describe Diana don’t do her justice,” said Michelle. “She was always described as being beautiful but until I saw her I didn’t realise just how stunning she was.”
“She was charismatic and down to earth. She had this appeal -when she spoke to you, you felt like you were the only person that she was talking to. She was incredibly funny and just put people at ease,” said Michelle.
The last time Michelle saw Diana was six and a half weeks before her death. Michelle says that around this time, she saw Diana, “really come out of her shell.”
Launch of the exhibition
Michelle wil be joined at the launch of the exhibition by someone else who knew Diana personally.
Viscount Tom de Vesci from Abbeyleix is a distant cousin of Princess Diana and shared a flat with Diana’s sister, Sarah.
“So Viscount de Vesci would have known Diana when she was 16 or 17, coming around to clean for her sister!” Michelle laughed.
The exhibition contains mainly candid, unposed shots of Diana but there is one photo that Michelle asked Diana to pose for.
“She posed and looked right at me with her bright blue eyes. That for me is my favourite photograph in the exhibition,” said Michelle.
Michelle’s exhibition ‘Quintessentially Diana’ runs from Wednesday 16 August 16 until Thursday 31 August in The Gallic Kitchen, Bramley, Abbeyleix.
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