A Grand Tour Exhibition at the Boole Library Cork by Artist Geraldine O'Riordan

Exhibition Opening at the Boole Library, University College Cork on Thursday, 3rd October, 2013

On a wet autumnal evening, members and friends assembled for an exhibition in celebration of ten years of the Cork Chapter in the splendid surroundings of the Boole Library.  Aptly named A Grand Tour, the paintings by artist Geraldine O'Riordan depict cameo views of some of the finest buildings visited in the past ten years.  Geraldine's idea was to create a body of work that would epitomise a cross section of these superb outings organised by herself and her committee colleagues, Kevin Hurley (Chairman), Dr. Alicia St. Leger, Catherine FitzMaurice, Edmund Corrigan and Maura Currivan.  Some are included in Viewing a Morrison which was purchased by the Cork Chapter as a gift for the new Irish Georgian Society headquarters at the City Assembly House, South William Street, Dublin.

The opening speaker at the exhibition was Peter Murray, Director of the Crawford Gallery, Cork.  Peter underlined the importance of this strand of our heritage suggesting that the paintings had an "important narrative" and were "personal and painterly expressions of our Georgian heritage".

The exhibition runs through December 20th, 2013 and images of the paintings may be viewed on www.geraldineoriordan.com

An Evening with The Friends of Fairfax House, York and The Cork Chapter

The Cork Chapter and the Friends of Fairfax House, York, jointly hosted a unique event at the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, for members and friends in September 2012.  The splendid sculpture gallery that houses the fine Canova castings of the Greco-Roman period, together with the magnificent Neo-Classical sculpture casts of the nineteenth and twentieth century periods, set the tone for a sparkling reception between the York and Cork friends.

Crawford Gallery Director, Peter Murray, delighted visitors with his talk on the works of art that surrounded his audience, while the Corkonians present quietly glowed with pride in the midst of their fine artistic heritage.  Buff Reid, spokesman for the York friends, conveyed her appreciation of the warm Cork Chapter céad míle fáilte.  Buff also thanked the Chapter for the help and local knowledge extended to the group in the planning of the itinerary of the South of Ireland Tour of stately homes by The Friends of Fairfax House.

Linked by common interests, everyone quickly got to know each other as stories were swapped and experiences shared.  The reception concluded with a much anticipated private tour of the gallery.  The group was happy to linger and admire the extensive collection of work on view at the gallery.

The event was a spectacular success, budding friendships blossomed and new ones were established.  Firm commitments were made to strengthen links between the two countries.  The prospect of a return visit to York by the Cork Friends remains as a possibility in the not-too-distant future.