Abbeyfeale in west Limerick has rallied together and created a story of their home like never before.

Over 100 volunteers got behind local photographer, John D Morris to literally bare all for a nude calendar to showcase the town, the facilities, wonderful natural amenities and tight knit community.

“I wanted to showcase Abbeyfeale in a positive light on a local, regional and national level” said John who had the idea filed away for many years before bringing it to light. “We’ve also partnered up with the Irish Cancer Society on this project” added John.

Key to showcasing the town was to employ a marketing strategy, so John along with Noreen Cotter, Aoife Keogh and Eamon Foley formed a group called CARA: Creative Arts Raising Abbeyfeale whose sole purpose is to promote Abbeyfeale through the arts. The calendar is their first project and the sales will allow them to create a dedicated fund for creative projects promoting the town.

“We approached the Irish Cancer Society…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. Eamon goes on to add, “We chose the Irish Cancer Society as everybody up and down the country has been affected in some way by cancer and we felt our project could help a far wider audience.”

Looking through the calendar there is a real sense that this is a collective story of their town. Made up of many individuals, it’s really the sum of all parts that makes the community what it is. The month of March features five ladies, Caroline Blundel, Annmarie Dennison, Marian Harnett, Mary Mc Arthur and Carina Prendiville enjoying a break in the local town park. Marian, who also appears on the front cover says “the whole experience was very liberating, an almost bucket list item”.

A general theme throughout is that it is tastefully produced.

‘“When we shot this image in the park it just looked really pretty” says Noreen “and we felt it would work really well to tie in with Daffodil Day and the volunteers who help out the organisation daily.”

What the calendar of Abbeyfeale shows us is the sense of pride the community has, and this comes through when you see how much the market town has on its doorstep.

“Abbeyfeale – The Bare Essentials” is available locally in over 30 locations, priced at €20 with €10 going directly to the Irish Cancer Society and online through https://ansiopamilsean.ie/pages/calendar facebook.com/CARAabbeyfeale