The town that dared to bare! Residents of historic Irish town strip off in the street, hairdressers and (of course!) the pub for hilarious charity calendar

A cluster of townsfolk from Abbeyfeale, County Limerick have stripped off for a nude calendar in partnership with the Irish Cancer Society.

The calendar, titled ‘Abbeyfeale – The Bare Essentials’ is made up of a series of photos – many of them of old men in locations that might appear mundane to the untrained eye – taken by local photographer John D Morris.

It depicts more than 100 volunteers posing nude across the West Limerick town, with the calendar also aiming to promote its amenities.

Morris said he wanted to take the concept of a naked calendar to new heights and ‘showcase Abbeyfeale in a positive light on a local, regional and national level’.

Pictures include naked men smiling in a barber shop, naked men smiling in the pub and naked men smiling in a supermarket.

Residents of Abbeyfeale, County Limerick bared all for a nude calendar in partnership with the Irish Cancer Society

The calendar, titled ‘Abbeyfeale – The Bare Essentials’ is made up of a series of photos taken by local photographer John D Morris

It depicts more than 100 volunteers posing nude across the West Limerick town, with the calendar also aiming to promote its amenities

There is, however, a serious story behind the project.

Morris spoke of attending a town meeting during the financial crash where there was a lot of talk about emigration and the brain drain in Abbeyfeale.

‘Like so many small towns up and down the country things weren’t looking good. I taught quite selfishly of my own five kids and wondered what their future would hold. Yes, they may want to travel and go overseas but I didn’t want them to feel forced to leave Abbeyfeale,’ he said.

Morris said he wanted to take the concept of a naked calendar to new heights and ‘showcase Abbeyfeale in a positive light on a local, regional and national level’

This calendar is the inaugural project of Creative Arts Raising Abbeyfeale. Sales will help the group to carry on with their objectives

He then began thinking of creating a story about Abbeyfeale that would highlight its attributes through a visual calendar.

Morris, along with Noreen Cotter, Aoife Keogh and Eamon Foley, formed a small group called CARA (Creative Arts Raising Abbeyfeale) with the aim to shine a light on the town through the arts.

This calendar is their inaugural project, and the sales will help the group to carry on with their objectives.

The first photograph taken was the cover image, which parodies the artwork for the Abbey Road album by The Beatles.

However, instead of the Fab Four walking along a zebra crossing, it has group of older, naked men doing the same while covering their bits with signs bearing the calendar’s name.

The cover image parodies the artwork for the Abbey Road album by The Beatles. It was the first photograph taken for the calendar

Also pictured is an elderly woman with a placard reading, ‘Down with this sort of thing’.

‘We approached the Irish Cancer Society about our little project, and they liked what we were doing and how we were doing it,’ said Eamon Foley, who runs a bike and hire shop in the town.

‘We choose the Irish Cancer Society as everybody up and down the country has been affected in some way by cancer, and we felt our little project could help a far wider audience.’

Morris said he began thinking of creating a story about Abbeyfeale that would highlight its attributes through a visual calendar

Morris said: ‘We choose the Irish Cancer Society as everybody up and down the country has been affected in some way by cancer, and we felt our little project could help a far wider audience.’

Morris said he pieced the calendar together ‘as a story of our town and community, some beautiful stories of hope and unfortunately some of loss’.

One such story of hope came for the October shoot, where a couple, Daniel Ward and Violeta Mustafaite, had married in secret earlier that morning.

The shoot was set up as a staged wedding, with the groomsman, the maid of honor and even the photographer among those kept in the dark about the earlier event. 

For the October shoot a couple had married in secret earlier that morning. The shoot was set up as a staged wedding, with the groomsman, the maid of honor and even the photographer among those kept in the dark about the earlier event

The marriage was later announced as a surprise in the calendar itself. The official calendar is now available to buy

The marriage was later announced as a surprise in the calendar itself.

The official calendar launch took place on Saturday night and the calendar is now live.

It is available online through https://ansiopamilsean.ie/pages/calendar. Further information is available through https://www.facebook.com/CARAabbeyfeale.

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