Sir, – We, the undersigned, are committed to the promotion of the arts in Waterford.
We welcome the recent news that Waterford’s Municipal Art Gallery, which has been located in Greyfriars since May 11th, 2001, will move in 2018 to a permanent home in O’Connell Street, the new cultural quarter of the city. We understand that this move is to make room for a new heritage-based museum in Greyfriars. We understand that the new municipal art gallery will open in July with a high-profile exhibition.
Greyfriars Municipal Gallery is home to the Waterford Municipal Art Collection which was founded in the late 1930s and contains over 400 artworks including some by Ireland’s leading 20th-century painters including Jack B Yeats, Paul Henry, Evie Hone and Louis le Brocquy. It is a remarkable collection of which Waterford people should be proud. In 2015, it toured to the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin to great acclaim.
Greyfriars Municipal Art Gallery is also an important venue for all artforms in Waterford, including literature, music and film. In the words of Waterford City and County Council: “With its excellent location, atmospheric ambience, audio-visual technical facilities, and generous wall space, Greyfriars Municipal Art Gallery is currently the premiere venue for visual art in Waterford city, and second only to Garter Lane Theatre in terms of suitability for other community-based art events.”
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We were disappointed that last year the southeast lost out to Galway in the bid to become the next European Capital of Culture in Ireland but were heartened that Waterford City and County Council committed to realising many of the aspirations contained in its bid and in short to putting the arts in the southeast on the map.
We are requesting the assurance of Waterford City and County Council that Greyfriars Municipal Art Gallery remains open to the public until such time as the new municipal art gallery is fully operational. We believe that any delay of more than a month in the operations and programme of the Municipal Art Gallery would be a retrograde and damaging step and would send a negative message to the rest of the country regarding Waterford City and County Council’s commitment to the arts.
Waterford’s Viking history is something we are also proud of, but those concerned in promoting the arts should not be pitted against those concerned with promoting heritage in the search for limited resources and appropriate facilities. – Yours, etc,
GER KENNEDY,
Prof ROY FOSTER,
Dr PETER JORDAN,
Dr ABDUL BULBULIA,
Prof ANNE JORDAN,
Senator GRACE
O’SULLIVAN,
MARY GREHAN,
ALAN MURPHY,
ANNA JORDAN,
OLLIE BRESLIN,
JANE KEEN,
ANDREE HARPUR, JOHN BERMINGHAM, SHARON FLEMING, JULIE DOWLING, FRANK FARRELLY, ANNA MOORE, RAYMOND KEANE, SARA VIGNES, LUCIE VIGNES-TYLER, TOMMY TYLER, JANICE MCEWEN, JACKIE KENNEDY, STUART KENNEDY, CIARAN CONNEELY, NIALL KENNEDY, CAROL ANNE ATKINS, THERESA FLYNN, ROGER KENNEDY, PHAD HENNESSEY, ANTOINETTE CREHAN, LIONEL POWELL, EMMA VERLING, MARY WALSHE, ALI GARMIANI, KATE ADAMS, DIANA POWELL BODRONE, REBECCA COUNAHAN, CLIODHNA O’CARROLL BRETT, BREDA RYAN, GENO KAVANAGH, NIK DOWLING, KAMILA BYSTRONOWSKA, HARRY O’NEILL, SUSAN GALLWEY, BARBARA THOMAS, KAREN KENNEDY, CLARE SCOTT, GREG COFFEY, MARGARET COFFEY, ALEX MACSWEENEY, ROBBIE O’KEEFFE, MICK O’DEA, SHIRLEY O’NEILL-DOWDALL, BEATRICE O’NEILL, JOHN MURPHY, TERESA CULLY, CHRIS CULLY, MARIA O’NEILL RAGONNAUD, DOMINIQUE RAGONNAUD, LANI O’HANLON, SIOBHAN MCLAUGHLIN, ANDREA COMERFORD, SARAH LANGAN, CAT MORAN, GRACE WELLS, AIDAN LLOYDE, GER HAYES, PETER FOSKIN, EVELYN POWER, EOIN MACKEY, DECLAN GORMAN, SEAN HARDIE, DENIS POWER, MARY TRITSCHLER, UNA KAVANAGH, NOELEEN DOOLEY, CHRISTINE O’BRIEN, MILIA TSAOUSSIAS-MADDOCK, JEAN NI BHAOILL, ANNE CURRAN, PATRICK GROGAN, BERNA LAWTON, JIM NOLAN, JOHN O’CONNOR, JOHN O’REGAN, LEWIS QUINN, GRAINNE FORAN TAYLOR, DAVID TOMS, JOHN CLOONO, AMY FITZGIBBON, PAUL COSTINE, JAMES FOLEY, SIOBHAN CLEARY, SINEAD DRIVER, MARIA O’MAHONEY, JIMMY COFFEY, CHRISTINA COFFEY, BRENDA CARROLL, ALAN GARVEY, LOUIS QUINLAN, JOE HUNT, MOLLIE HUNT, MICK MIXILE SHANAHAN, NIALL O’BRIAN-MORAN, SARAH PHILLIPS, BARTON HILL, JACQUI CORCORAN, KIKI ROOSLI, KEVIN POWER, CATHERINE DREA, DEREK VERSO, MERETE WILLIAMS, DANNY COFFEY, CATHRINA HOULIHANE, JOHN NEE, NICOLA COADY, GRACE GALATI, TYRONE POWER, GEOFF FOLEY, JOHN CULLINAN, EMER CULLINAN, BEN HENNESSY, ANTHONY COSTINE, DAVID SMYTH, PAT CUNNINGHAM, PADDY JORDAN, GUNTHER BERKUS, JENNI LEDWELL, FRANCESCA JORDAN, ANTHONY HAYES, FRANK WHELAN, MARTIN FAHY, DONNCHA Ó MAIDIN, VICKIE DUNPHY, MARI LYNCH, MICHELLE DALTON, GARY O’BRIEN, COLETTE ROCKET DELGANO, JOHN O KEEFFE, ROISIN O’SHEA, JOHN HEARNE, MAGDALENA LIPINSKA, STEVEN STUBBS, ANITA O KEEFFE, ANRAI CARROLL, CIARA LANGAN, RUTH FLYNN, ARKADY CARROLL, AMY BIBLE, PATRICK MURPHY, DENIS MCLEAN, NATALIE FITZPATRICK, DR. NICHOLAS BANKES, GEOFF FOLEY, CATHY HAYDEN, DENISE JACENIUK, JOE KELLY, MARK ROPER, ANDREA JAMESON, PETRA KINDLER, LAYLA HUGHES, CAROLINE SCHOFIELD, LEAH CLARKE, OREN LITTLE, JOAN DALTON, GRACE WELLS, RENEE FRAHER, SIOBHAN FITZGERALD MOORE, MARY BETH MEEHAN, GER HAYES, ANNE WOODWORTH, PAUL BOKSLAG, FRANCES CROWE, DAVIS TEEVAN, MARK GRAHAM, GYPSY RAY, LIZ WALSH, ALAN O’NEILL, MARY RUTH WALSH, BRIGID COLLINS, SEAN CORCORAN, GAVIN BARR, BLAWNIN CLANCY, CAROLINE HENNESSEY, NICHOLA BERESFORD, MARIE JEANNE JACOB, MICHAEL FORTUNE, ALAN COUNIHAN, KAREN POWER, RAYLEEN CLANCY, GEORGE HIGGS, MICK DANIELS, BARA ALICH, CIARA KAVANAGH, DEREK MCGRATH, MARK HOULIHANE, SARAH JANE HANTON, SARAH O’NEILL, SHELDON PETERSEN, PATRICIA O’NEILL, SUSANNE O’NEILL, MAJELLA KEATING, SAOIRSE KEATING, KATIE SHEEHAN, CLAIRE MEANEY, NOLLAIG BRENNAN, MARY GOUGH, BLANAID MCCANN, CLARE SMITH, LISA CODY, LINDA MURPHY, FIONN MURPHY, CIARAN BOYLE, EMER POWELL, CANICE MURPHY, CORNELIUS BROWNE, FERDIA MACANNA.