A LARGE bogland scene by Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs Jimmy Deenihan is among more than 200 anonymous paintings to be offered for sale in aid of the Cill Rialaig artists’ retreat centre this weekend.
The anonymous oil painting in a pop-up gallery at the Cornmarket Centre, Cork, will be surrounded by other pictures by sport stars including Seán Óg Ó hAilpín and former Kerry great Maurice Fitzgerald.
The group is described as “Sunday painters” by Noelle Campbell-Sharpe, director of the Cill Rialaig artists’ centre in Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry. After agreeing to paint for the gallery, they were steered by professional artists.
Paintings by international and Irish artists such as Mick Mulcahy and west Cork artist John Kingerlee will be among the paintings to be sold on Friday at 6pm in Cork, all unidentified, and all at just €250.
It follows a similar successful fundraiser last year in which a modern landscape of the Skellig Rock by former ceann comhairle John O’Donoghue was one of the first to sell.
Mr Deenihan’s peaceful and more conventional bogland landscape is of a scene near his home in Finuge near Listowel in north Kerry. Bogs are one of his favourite landscapes and he has joined in efforts with Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan in a compensation package for turf-cutters banned from taking turf from raised bogs in the midlands.
“Despite a punishing schedule Minister Deenihan found time to take a lesson from leading Tralee-based artist Linda Graham before submitting a painting entitled Bog Cotton on Ennismore Bog,” said Ms Campbell-Sharpe.
She said hurling star Seán Óg went quite “wild” and painted four abstracts, only one of which is being offered for this auction. “He shows talent with the brush, as well as the hurley,” she said.