Madam, – I write in support of the letter from Robert Ballagh (October 20th). The decision by Bank of Ireland to sell off its art collection is tantamount to cultural sabotage. As as customer of the bank for more than 30 years, I can no longer do business with an institution that has decided to make a public demonstration of its contempt for our visual inheritance by selling off its collection for a fraction of its value and ridding itself of any responsibility to show or support Irish art.
The bank has come a long way from its enlightened support of the visual arts when its then headquarters on Baggot Street was a centre for exhibitions of contemporary Irish art and its collection policy did so much to keep up morale in the 1980s.
The bank has had useful and practical advice at arranged meetings from artists representing many areas of the visual arts on how to use the collection, at minimum cost, for the benefit of the population, but to no avail.
It would not be so bad it was called “Bank of” something of no significance, but to continue to call itself Bank of Ireland sets a poor example and reflects badly on our country. – Yours, etc,