Death of sculptor Goulet

The sculptor, Yann Renard Goulet RHA, who died last Sunday, was born in St Nazaire in Brittany in 1914, but became an Irish citizen when he moved here in 1947.

Goulet displayed precocious skill at drawing and painting as a child. He had begun studying architecture when he won a scholarship to the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts. He thrived in this traditional academic environment where he won the Chenavar Prize for drawing.

Goulet was a modeller rather than a carver, preferring the freedom and flexibility of modelling and casting the results in bronze to stone-carving. One of his teachers was Rodin's assistant, Despiau.

His involvement with the Breton separatist movement led to his departure, with his wife, Vonig, and children, Armelle and Herve, for Ireland in 1947. It was rumoured that he faced a death sentence. Here his Breton identity translated into sympathy for the republican cause. He became an Irish citizen, and his third child, Brigid, was born in Ireland.

Based in Bray, he experienced considerable financial hardship and put his knowledge of the sea to good use by fishing and gathering shellfish. He quickly established himself on the artistic scene by winning a prestigious competition for the Custom House Memorial in 1950.

His expressive style distinguished him as an innovator in Ireland.

With his Breton cap and a cigarette perpetually between his lips he was an instantly recognisable figure, but despite his Gallic appearance he did not take kindly to being described as French.

The sculptor Imogen Stuart recalls how, having met him and made that assumption, she pointed out to him the blue, white and red chequered pattern of her skirt. "He was not amused," she remembers, and brusquely informed her that as a Breton his colours were black and white.

After that they got on very well. "He was a nice man and I think he was underestimated as a sculptor."

His specialities were heroic monuments, religious subjects and portraits. A very capable technician, his portrait sitters included Mr Charles Haughey and Mr Ben Dunne. He had been a member of Aosdana since 1982, and was RHA Professor of Sculpture. The RHA president, Mr Carey Clarke, paid tribute to his skills as a portraitist and said: "There was always a vigorous liveliness to his work". A former RHA president, Mr Thomas Ryan, said: "He never pretended to be a genius, but I'd give him the highest accolade I could give anyone: he was competent. That's a rare quality."