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Speech on the Occasion of the conferring of Honorary Irish Citizenship on Mr. Derek Hill

Speech on the Occasion of the conferring of Honorary Irish Citizenship on Mr. Derek Hill By President Mary McAleese

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to be here on this ceremonious yet very joyous occasion to confer Irish citizenship on Derek Hill, painter, collector, raconteur, champion of the arts and wonderful human being.

To say that Derek has led a full life would be an understatement. From his early childhood near Romsey in England, art and painting has always been his first love. His father persuaded him to study stage design rather than painting, as he considered this to be a more structured profession. Derek has shown us that no structures could ever contain his talents, energies and interests.

His work in stage design did however, enable Derek to travel widely, spending time in Paris, Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev, developing an interest and expertise in Russian icons along the way.

He also travelled as far as Japan, China, Bali and Thailand before spending some years in France and Italy and, in the process, became an expert in Eastern and Islamic Art. It is a measure of the drive and determination of the man that he did all this at a time when travel to these countries was nearly inaccessible.

In 1937 Derek Hill took up painting again under the encouragement and tutelage of Edward Molyneux in Paris. He later returned to Italy where he pursued his love of painting and met many famous Italian artists whose works he collected and which now form part of the Derek Hill collection. Although a frequent visitor to Ireland, having visited Co. Wicklow as a child, it was not until 1954 that Derek bought St. Columb’s in Co. Donegal. These two seemingly unconnected happenings – collecting works of art and buying St. Columb’s - have proved fortuitous for the people of Donegal and Ireland.

Indeed it is a great tribute to the people of Donegal and Tory Island that they managed to satisfy his wanderlust and that, of all the exotic fascinating places he has visited, he chose to settle in Ireland. It is only fitting that we return this generous compliment by honouring him with Irish Citizenship.

Although Derek Hill held his first one-man show at the Nicholson Gallery in London as far back as 1943, he has continued to paint. His career as a portrait painter has won him international renown; he has portrayed many statesmen, musicians and churchmen as diverse as Sir Michael Tippett, Dr. Tony O’Reilly, HRH Prince Charles, Archbishop McQuaid, Garrett Fitzgerald and a predecessor of mine, Erskine Childers. His exceptional artistic talent has also given us some very fine landscapes, including a number of wonderful Tory Island works.

Derek Hill has never been elitist about his art but recognises that art is a mirror of life which can reflect its beauty, fullness, joy and sorrow in all its facets. He believes that access to one’s own artistic potential is a part of each individual’s birthright and to this end he championed and supported the Tory Island Painters, the most well known of whom, James Dixon, has paintings in many major museums.

In 1981 Derek Hill made the generous gift of his house, St. Columb’s and its art collection, contents and beautiful gardens to the nation. His studio and the outhouses were converted to provide the Glebe Gallery that now exhibits items from the Derek Hill collection, works by the Tory Island Painters and the works of touring exhibitions. He is truly a patron of the arts, in his love of both painting and music – he has served on the council for the Wexford Opera Festival for more than thirty years – and for this we are again indebted to him.

The conferral of honorary citizenship is the highest accolade that the Irish people can pay. It is an expression of our deep gratitude and our admiration for Derek – not only for his generous gift of St. Columb’s to the nation, but also for his generosity in sharing his artistic gifts with so many – that we are gathered here today to pay tribute to him. On behalf of the Irish people, it is with great pleasure that I bestow on Derek, Honorary Citizenship of Ireland and count him as one of the most distinguished among our global Irish family.