I am delighted that the exhibition “A Different Land: Irish Bogland Interpretations” is continuing its tour of the United States in the Irish Arts Center in New York. Similar exhibitions were held in Magnan Projects in Chelsea, New York and the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago in 2008. These were very well received and attracted considerable media attention. The first exhibition on this theme was held as part of the Sean McCarthy Weekend Festival in Finuge, County Kerry in 2006. Sean McCarthy is recognized as one of Ireland’s great balladeers and among his best known songs are “Shanagolden,” “Red Haired Mary,” and “Highland Paddy.” Sean once said that the “bog isn’t a place, it’s a feeling...”
The aim of the exhibition is to increase international awareness of the beauty and uniqueness of Ireland’s bog landscapes. An increasing number of visitors are coming to Ireland to experience our distinctive landscape. Compromising one sixth of our island, boglands are an integral part of Ireland’s rich landscape tapestry. For centuries, Irish Boglands have inspired artists and writers such as artist Paul Henry and poet Seamus Heaney who referred to the bog as a “dark casket where we have found many of the clues to our past and to our cultural identity.”
The exhibition “A Different Land” features nineteen talented artists now living in Kerry. Their work is of very high quality, which captures distinctive scenes and images from our renowned Kerry landscape. I hope you will find this exhibition both interesting and stimulating. For further information about the Sean McCarthy Weekend Festival go to www.finugeweekend.com.
A Dáil deputy since 1987, Jimmy was appointed as Advisor to the Leader on Northern Ireland Policy and Party Spokesperson on Sport in February 2001. He was Fine Gael's Junior Spokesperson on Environmental Information and Protection from June 2000 to February 2001.
