Micheal Collins Irish Art
With out a doubt, One of the Great Heroes of Irish History
Micheal Collins Irish Art. This was a wonderful commission to work on. The painting is heading to a new home in the UK to a in his own words,
“A Staunch Unrepentant Fenian”
Thank you Phelim!
A lot of thoughts put into this painting, because I truly wanted to do Micheal Collins justice, while capturing his youth energy, and intensity.
“Yerra they”ll never kill me in my own county”
Micheal Collins was one of the leading figures in the fight for Irish Independence
He was Director of Intelligence of the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence, and served as Minister for Justice for the Irish Republic
Micheal lived a short but very full life.
He died on Tuesday 22nd of August 1922, at Beal Ná Blath in west Cork.
His final words were “forgive them”
“Don’t Give Your Daughters a Dowry”
Ireland is a small country and I am sure there are many that could state a connection to Micheal Collins.
My grandaunt Maureen Power from Coolnagun in west Tipperary was very active in the lead up to the establishment of the Irish free State.
In the small parish of Donohill, where Maureen was born and raised, one Sunday morning the parish priest announced from the pulpit,
“Don’t give your daughters a dowry, give them an education” with the result that Maureen and her sister Tess were sent to secondary school in Loreto on the Green on Stephens Green, and would have been among the first women to attend UCD.
Stories of Maureen and Micheal Collins have been passed down through the generations in our family.
My favourite story being that in a meeting one day Micheal was getting stressed and as began cursing. Sean Tracy stood up and asked him to please remember that there was a lady present .
Cumann na mBan
Maureen was a member of Cumann na mBan.
She had an interesting circle of friends. For instance, Seán Mhac an tSaoi a founding member of Fianna Fáil and his wife Margaret Browne were very close friends.
Maureen became Godmother to their daughter one of Irelands foremost Irish language poets Máire Mhac an tSaoi.
Indeed while my father Larry and his brother Pat attended UCD, she was one of their lecturers.
They were unaware of the connection.
Also she was a great friend also of Kevin Barrys sister Kitty, and consequently brought her to the family home in Coolnagun to recover from the death of Kevin in 1916.
The English Killed Her
Maureen died at age 29 after a short illness.
My Grandfather didn’t speak much about those times, having spent two years on the run. According to my father Larry, he never got over Maureens’ death. All he would say on the matter was that the English killed her.
To make and enquiry please email me maureen.depaor@gmail.com. To view some more of my work please follow the link.
