MARTIN Cullen, Minister of State for the OPW, might have thought he was having a nice, easy day in Paris last week. He visited three state buildings - the Bibliotheque Nationale, the new modern art museum at the Pompidou Centre and the finance ministry at Bercy - where preservation and restoration of interest to us is in progress. He also opened the Art of the State exhibition, which after much travelling and changing has now reached the Irish College in Paris.
The exhibition is drawn from the 4,000 works of art, by 700 artists, in OPW ownership, a collection helped greatly by the One Percent Scheme of 1978 whereby 1 per cent of OPW construction budgets must go on art works. They are then displayed in Government Buildings, ministers' offices, and State properties of various types including embassies and commercial missions.
No sooner had he opened the exhibition at the Irish College, which has been in Irish hands since 1977, than the Minister was lobbied for restoration funds by Frank O'Reilly, the chairman of the Friends of the College, and by the administrator, Roisin Dockery. Cullen said "Its further development would result in a major cultural and educational centre for the benefit of the Irish nation."