Gina’s art exhibition comes Out of the Blue ESB acquire land off Council in Quilty for €1

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

AN EXHIBITION OF paintings by artist Gina O’Connor was officially opened in Kilkee on Saturday.

Gina who divides her time between Kilkee and Limerick has a new colourful collection of unique landscape and seascape oil paintings in semi-abstract style in the presentation titled ‘Out of the Blue’.

Clare Arts Office in conjunction with Cultúrlann Sweeney Gallery in Kilkee is presenting the exhibition which runs until June 16th 2023. Gina works mainly with brushes and palette knives. Her work is characterised by her multi-coloured marks which are sometimes thick and dramatic while at other times light and subtle.

Themes such as home, wonder, hope, nostalgia, and joy permeate her work. Gina approaches the canvas with excitement and uncertainty, and she believes this unpredicted process adds emotion and energy to her evocative paintings. Gina said she is “often surprised by the interesting and colourful shapes, figures and features that emerge ‘Out of the Blue’ from this painting process”.

Her recent solo exhibitions, including ‘Outside In’ at the Scarriff Library Gallery and ‘A Better Place’ at the Clare Museum, Ennis, were described as “simple, soulful, honest, unpretentious and deeply captivating”. Gina has also exhibited in Draíoctht in Adare, the Bridge in Ballina/Killaloe, the People’s Museum of Limerick, and Hare’s Corner, also in Limerick.

Artist Ruth Wood officially opened the exhibition in Kilkee on Saturday. Gina stated, “While this may be a solo exhibition it is very much a team effort. I would like to thank the Clare Arts Office, Culturlann Sweeney and Kilkee Library for supporting ‘Out Of The Blue’ and giving me the opportunity to exhibit my work. It truly is an honour to exhibit here in wonderful Kilkee, my home from home”.

ESB are to acquire a piece of land off Clare County Council in Quilty for the total sum of €1 writes Páraic McMahon.

At the May meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, the disposal of a piece of land at An Cladach in Quilty was approved.

Cathaoirleach of the West Clare MD, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) explained, “It is essentially a piece of ground or it looks like a piece of ground for an ESB sub-station at the social houses in Quilty, it’s for a €1 and it’s to the measure of 8.68 square metres”.

“It sounds like a bargain,” Cllr Liam Grant (GP) quipped. Sentiments from Cllr Talty that the deal was “fairly straight-forward” were echoed by officials within the County Council.

Niamh Madden, a senior engineer in the social development directorate told the meeting, “It is the standard for an ESB sub-station, this is what we have to do and it is what is required of us with the ESB to try get this line”. West Clare representatives, Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) and Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) proposed and seconded the disposal of land respectively.