On The Town: It was the culmination of two years' work by prisoners in 15 jails across Ireland when the exhibition, A Time To Stand and Stare, opened in Kilmainham Gaol Museum this week.
The works cover a broad variety of art forms, including painting, drawing, lino-print, sculpture, mosaic, video and pottery.
Prof Brian Maguire, head of fine art at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), explained that it was the first exhibition of prisoners' work to be held in the former governors' offices in the gaol.
"It is fitting that this exhibition is held here," said Maguire. "Yeats's 'terrible beauty' was born out of this prison, and now we witness another kind of beauty coming out of Irish prisons."
The co-ordinator of education in prisons across the State, Kevin Warner, opened the exhibition by praising the philosophy behind education in prison and by extolling the foresight of local VECs, libraries, the Arts Council and NCAD for "enabling prisoners to discover new aspects of themselves through art and education".
With more than 100 pieces on show, the organisers used the unique space that is the Kilmainham museum to its full potential, even using some of the old cells for an interactive art piece.
NCAD board member Ciarán MacGonigal expressed his amazement at the quality of the work on show and admitted to having his eye on at least three of the exhibits.
"I think I'm going to have to join the queue," he said.
Paul Murnihan, artist, curator and teacher in Portlaoise Prison, attending with friends Alison Pryce and Grainne Murray, praised the diversity, vibrancy and originality of the exhibits. Exhibition co-ordinator Veronica Hoen said that a huge amount of planning had gone into developing the idea.
"The most amazing thing was the feedback we got from prisoners," said Hoen. "We were totally overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of the work that was submitted."
A Time To Stand and Stare runs at Kilmainham Gaol until Mar 15; Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, Co Cork, from Mar 24 to Apr 10; and Kerry Literary and Cultural Centre, Listowel, from Jun 2 to 5