Easter Rising Art Exhibition
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Monday March 30, 2009 00:26
by Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin - Artist
caoimhghin at yahoo dot com
Radical Leaders' Portraits
Beginning tomorrow the Skerries Mills will show a political portraits art exhibition by Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin entitled 'Uprising' for two weeks. The exhibition contains the seven signatories of the Proclamation as well as some other Irish radical / revolutionary leaders covering the last 300 years.
The idea of this exhibition is to explore Irish history in a visual way, to re-present well-known Irish figures not as strict historical paintings but more of a modern interpretation of their lives and their times. There are notable exceptions in the series, such as Daniel O'Connell who was essentially a monarchist and very much looked after his class interests. For example, O'Connell 'cherished a romantic attachment for his "darling little Queen" (Victoria)' and when he took his seat as a supporter of the Whig Government in the House of Commons 'voted against a proposal to shorten the hours of child labour in factories' in 1838. [See P. Berresford, Ellis, A History of the Irish Working Class. London, Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1972, pps 100 and 104/5]. Thus the exhibition concentrates on those leaders who were revolutionary and progressive and who were concerned with the ordinary people of Ireland. It is an interesting coincidence to note that the year 2016 will also be the 400th anniversary of the death of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. In terms of the struggle against colonialism the year 1616 marked the end of the beginning with the Flight of the Earls while the Easter Rising marked the beginning of the end.
Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2where is Skerries Mills?
If you go off the M1 at Donabate and follow the signs to Skerries you will come to a bridge and a roundabout after you go through. Take the second left and drive down through the housing estate till you get to another main road. Turn left and head north towards Skerries again. A few hundred yards down you will see on the left a small road lined with a small wood fence. This is the entrance to the Skerries mills complex. As you go in you will see a duck pond on the right. Drive up the road a bit more and you will be in the Skerries Mills carpark. In front of you on the left is the cafe and mill buildings and on the right is one of the renovated windmills. This is also a landmark which can be used to find one's way to the complex. Go into the mill buildings and then upstairs to the cafe where the exhibition 'Uprising' is hanging.
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