Celebrity art

Next Wednesday, a whole bevvy of celebrities will descend upon the Shelbourne Hotel - or at least paintings by them will

Next Wednesday, a whole bevvy of celebrities will descend upon the Shelbourne Hotel - or at least paintings by them will. Solicitor Clodagh Kean and HRH Princess Haya of Jordan have joined together with Ciaran Gearty of the charity Health Action Overseas (formerly Babies of Romania) and gathered a huge amount of paintings by wellknown folk from home and abroad. Clodagh, who took over as patron of the charity from Ali Hewson, and Ciaran wrote off to any number of friends and acquaintances and asked for a signed Christmas scene. The results are flooding in and include works by the British prime minister, Tony Blair, who sent a photographic work; footballer Ruud Gullit; boxer Lennox Lewis; singer Luciano Pavarotti, who sent a sweet little picture of a fruit pie; designer John Rocha who sent a work on paper; American designer Tommy Hilfiger; singer Jim Kerr; Irish team manager Mick McCarthy, who painted a Christmas tree, and footballer Ryan Giggs. Princess Haya, who has spent time in Ireland perfecting her equestrian skills, will be flying in on Wednesday for the auction, when all the works will be sold in aid of the charity.