50th annual exhibition at Gorey Art Circle

By Dan Walsh in Gorey

The opening of Gorey Art Circle’s 50^th annual exhibition took place in the Freemason Hall, The Avenue, Gorey last night and celebrated its longevity with an impressive exhibition of paintings which will be open daily until August 5^th.

An internationally respected painter and art enthusiast Paul Funge (1944 – 2011), who was a founder member and director of Project Art Centre in Dublin in 1967, felt it was important to bring art into local communities and decided to start in his native Gorey.

Gorey Art Centre was established in 1970 by Paul Funge together with many others including Joe Browne, Rita Stokes, Betty O’Loughlin and the first Gorey Arts Festival was held in 1970 introducing the Gorey area to various forms of art including music, drama, painting, photography and sculpture.

The Gorey Art Circle evolved from this group. The first ever exhibition of the Arts Circle was held in the lounge of Browne’s pub and it is very special for The Art Circle to had Mr. Joe Browne to officially open its exhibition on this its 50^th anniversary.

The Art Circle went on to exhibit in the Market House, initially, in the Council Chamber upstairs and later it held its exhibitions at street level in the Market House for many years.

Margaret O’Morchoe, who spoke eloquently on the opening night, has been the chairperson of the Arts Circle Committee for many years and has provided leadership and guidance to the group.

The Gorey Art Circle has 42 members who come together to exhibit their paintings. These exhibitions provide the opportunity for individual artists to display a diversity of work in oil, watercolour, charcoal or mixed media. The group also engage in activities such as visits to galleries, gardens, historic buildings and other places of interest to gain inspiration for their work.

Exhibitors include Iwona Blasi, Ann Breen, Margaret Carroll, Elsie Foley, Máirín Graham, Adri Harnett, Avis Horn, Marie Louise Hayden, Paul Hayes, Barbara Jameson, Siobhán Kenny, Claire Lacey, Madge McDonald, Sheila MacNally, Maria O’Callaghan, Margaret O’Morchoe, Lisa Popplewell, Pat Power, Diane Quillinan, Venis Reilly, Una Stack, Deborah Stedmond, Phyllis Stedmond and Liam Van Nickerk.

Located in the Freemason Hall, The Avenue, Gorey, the exhibition is open daily, including Sundays, 11am to 5pm until Monday, August 5^th. Gorey Art Circle invite visitors to donate to a selected charity and also the exhibitors this year will donate a percentage of all painting sold to this  year’s charity which is the The Hope Cancer Support Centre, Enniscorthy, which is the nearest such service centre to Gorey.