'Political divisions were forgotten' - Mayo man takes photo of Artemis launch

WE all seem to be sure, that a photo can say more than a thousand words. And while that may well be true, sometimes the story behind a photo paints a different picture.

Mayo man Martin McDermott (73) was an eye witness to the much talked about launch of Artemis II into space. While he was able to take a few breath taking pictures of the rocket leaving earth for its moon mission, for McDermott the journey began almost sixty years ago. In 1969, he stayed up all night to watch the Apollo 11 moon landing live on RTÉ.

“My whole family went off to bed,” remembers McDermott: “And my father was giving out to me, because I had school the next day, and I said, I have to see this, and he said, you'll see it on the news tomorrow, and I said, no, I want to be able to say that I saw it happening live, and he looked at me like I needed medication or something.”

READ NEXT: ‘It’s been unsettling’ - Mayo woman on not being able to return to Dubai

Teenage Martin was made to wait. The moon landing was due to happen at about ten or eleven o'clock at night, but for one thing or another, it was delayed until about four in the morning: “And RTÉ were struggling for those four extra hours, they were playing music, and they were doing religious broadcasts, and it was amazing the way they were struggling to keep the audience engaged. And then all of a sudden at about, I think it was about 3.50 in the morning, this very faint and grainy black and white image on a black and white TV.”

He had stayed up all night to witness Neil Armstrong's famous words. That fascination for space programs proved to be a constant theme in McDermott's life. He has attended over 100 launches of NASA and SpaceX. He holds a yearly membership access to Kennedy Space Center. And he has even done some work them years ago.

GROUNDBREAKING
BEING there now and seeing Artemis II embarking on yet another groundbreaking, historic journey into space, completed a circle for Martin: “It all started in 1969. Little did I realise, as a 16 year old looking at Armstrong touching the moon, from an old black and white TV, that someday I would be at the very spot and see a live launch of mans return to the moon.”

The Artemis rocked launched into space as captured
by Martin McDermott on the spot in Florida.

He described the actual launch as an amazing experience. “Louder and more visual than any previous launches I had seen. The vibration spread through the ground and into the crowd, causing shouts of delight from many.

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US. Pic: Martin McDermott

Up to 200,000 people saw the launch live in Florida. For a brief moment, political division, international conflicts were all forgotten. People acted in unison clapping, cheering and not a glum face anywhere. Amazingly, no protestors anywhere, none reported worldwide. For a brief moment the World cheered man's abilty to achieve great things in the service of humanity.”

McDermott described the scene at the location, speaking to The Mayo News. He saw hundreds of amateur photographers with their phones held high. More professional photographers had found spots for tripods. Further up the chain were the media guys, contract and independents.

The photographer spends parts of the year in the US visiting family and doing photoshoots. McDermott was born in Dublin, but to Mayo parents, and always spent a lot of time here. Two of his daughters live in the county, and he has a house in Mulranny. Recently he was in Arizona and Utah photographing deserts and mountains as part of portfolios for clients.

For him, artistically, the photos from the Artemis II rocket show the groaning effort of the massive machine trying to escape Earths grip and gravity. Man fighting to escape the shackles and confinement of Earth.

“The rocket seemed fluidic through the lens as heat haze from the engines caused a rippling effect along its length. Although this was a visual allusion, it makes the 100 meter monster craft look more like a balloon than something made of steel.”

His passion for engineering is definitely in McDermott's family history, as his grandfather was one of the engineers that worked on the bridge in Newport town back in the 1890s. And he believes on his father's side, he is related to famous Irish Nationalist Michael Davitt.

An unforgettable occasion, even for an experienced photographer like Martin McDermott. He will be home in Mayo again this week.

View more of Martin's work: https://www.marty-mac.com/

READ NEXT: ‘I don't mind if people do or don't like’ painting of Croagh Patrick

Martin McDermott taking aim for a photo. Pic: McDermott