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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF THE JACK B. YEATS CATALOGUE THE NILAND GALLERY

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF THE JACK B. YEATS CATALOGUE THE NILAND GALLERY, SLIGO FRIDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 199

I am very grateful indeed to Donal Tinney, the Sligo County Librarian, for giving me this opportunity to launch the Jack B. Yeats catalogue – and in the process to give recognition to his illustrious predecessor, Nora Niland, after whom this Gallery was recently named – and who through sheer dedication and commitment to the service of the people of Sligo, initiated this collection of works of one of Sligo’s most famous sons.

The catalogue gives a very illuminating account of the work which Nora Niland put into the creation of this collection - and it reveals how, though not a native of Sligo, she was dedicated to ensuring that the people of Sligo would retain the “cultural property” that was theirs. The catalogue chronicles how this remarkable woman of vision worked through contacts – how, as Fran Hegarty puts it, “Businesses, bishops and breweries were all beset by her indefatigable zeal” as she set about the task of assembling the rich collection of the works of Jack Yeats with, as Hillary Pyle says, “her ability to persuade or cajole the generous and the sceptical to share her vision” – giving us a body of work which greatly enhances the cultural legacy of Sligo today. Sligo and, indeed, Ireland owes Nora Niland a great debt of gratitude for all that she has done – and it is fitting that this gallery should now bear her name in tribute to her efforts and achievements.

Jack Yeats and his brother lived through a time of profound change in Ireland – a time when the seeds of national independence started to grow and blossom into a new state with all the struggles and conflicts that ensued – and the turmoil of the years that brought us up to the Second World War – an era which changed for all time the structure of society throughout the world. In Ireland it was a time of hope and re-birth – a time when there was a rediscovery of Irish culture – and a re-birth in which both played significant roles. That impetus has resonated through succeeding generations of artists and writers – of poets and musicians - right up to the Ireland of today with its new-found cultural identity and self-confidence in the international arena.

The work of Jack B. Yeats, which was so influenced by his connections with Sligo, is itself growing in international stature as the movement in which he had such a significant part in creating is coming of age. Because of his rise in popularity and of his love of Sligo which, the significance of this collection and of Nora Niland’s work is increasing – and the importance of Sligo as a repository of our cultural heritage is becoming more pronounced. Sligo’s influence on his art can be seen in the many works in the collection which use its striking landscapes and streetscapes, and in his other works which, as Hillary Pyle says in the catalogue’s Introduction, have ‘a thought of Sligo’ in them. All the more reason therefore, that Nora Niland’s wish that the Ireland should ‘render unto Sligo the art and artefacts that are hers’ should be fulfilled in this way.

Of course, Nora could not have achieved what she did if it were not for the support and assistance which she received from Sligo County Council and Corporation. So this exhibition is also a tribute to the commitment of the people of Sligo – and to their vision in recognising the importance of a Sligo artist in the national and international context. I would like to pay tribute to the Council and the Corporation for their commitment to the Gallery - and to the County Librarian, Donal Tinney, who has undertaken the curatorship of the Sligo County Council Art Collection making a personal representative selection from the 49 works by Jack B. Yeats in the Council’s Art Collection. Indeed, through Donal’s commitment to continuing the work of his predecessors – and in the development of other projects like the “Bradan” CD-ROM project on the ‘Yeats Family’ and the ‘Landscape of Sligo’, he is upholding the great tradition of the Sligo County Library and putting his own unique stamp on a facility that serves a far wider community than the library users of County Sligo.

The exhibition is made up of oils and watercolours – some of which have not been seen before – spanning the working life of the artist. They give us a rich insight into his development as an artist, the influences which shaped his work as he matured, and a changing Ireland. It is a fascinating exhibition which should be of appeal and interest to a very wide audience. Above all, it is a tremendous achievement for Sligo and a tribute to your work in nurturing your cultural heritage.

I have much pleasure in launching the catalogue – and in formally declaring the exhibition open.