President Mary McAleese yesterday paid tribute to artist Louis le Brocquy whom she received at Áras an Uachtaráin to mark his 90th birthday.
Le Brocquy was accompanied by his wife Anne Madden and Seamus and Marie Heaney.
Mrs McAleese, wishing the artist a very happy birthday, said she wanted to give him thanks for these wonderful 90 years and, in particular, for the wonderful years he had given to Ireland.
"We have been familiar with your work for so many years now and your name has carried right around the world through the Saoi of Asodána, the Venice Biennale, the Legion d'Honneur . . . What a life, what a career. Thank you for the wonderful work you have done and the way you have represented Ireland," she said.
Mrs McAleese added: "It is a truly wonderful thing to possess such an amazing gift and to be able to bring it to perfection, as you have done, over a lifetime."
Le Brocquy, a Dubliner, will be 90 on November 10th. His birthday is being marked by a series of exhibitions and events. One is at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which is showing selected works until January 7th; another will take place at the National Gallery, concentrating on his head images, from next month until January 14th.
In Paris, a retrospective of his works is being shown until November 10th. There will be exhibitions at the Tate Britain in London from November 6th to 22nd; the Fenton Gallery, Cork, from November 10th to December 2nd; Gimpel Fils, London, from November 24th to January 13th; and Dublin City Gallery (Hugh Lane) from January to March 2007.
Just this week a watercolour by Le Brocquy fetched a record £153,600 (€229,000) at an auction of post-war Irish art at Sotheby's in London.
The painting, Study of Francis Bacon, was purchased by a private Irish buyer and its price was the highest ever paid for a work by the artist on paper.
Two other pieces by Le Brocquy also featured in the top 10 purchases at the auction: Study of Head from Memory, an oil on canvas, was sold for £96,000; and Still Life with Fruit, in pencil and watercolour, fetched £19,200.