THE Granary’s City Library is host to “a collaboration of storytelling, contemporary paintings and poetry” that is open to all this Thursday 8 at 7pm.
Under the banner of ‘Ammemorium – The Story of a Forgotten Rebel’, the artists are Professor John Hyatt and Sam Windrim. Their works are ”inspired by the activities of our shared grandfather, also named Sam Windrim, during the Easter Rebellion of 1916.”
There’s a book launch also of the same title and this exhibition is included in Official 1016 Centenary Celebrations.
In 1916, that Sam Windrim was a munitions worker here in Limerick who was sworn into the IRB on the Good Friday of the Easter Rising. He became involved in the ultimately failed mission to meet with Sir Roger Casement and help in the distribution of weapons; and to destroy telegram cables in Valentia.
Young Windrim wound up on trial and did time in Richmond and Frongoch prisons.
The art work to The Granary’s inventive presentation sounds interesting: six paintings, each depicting various events in the Rising story and encased in a WWI style ammunition box. The boxes’ inner lids are canvas to display original poetry by Windrim Jnr on his grandfather’s military adventure and trial.
Interestingly, these boxes were made at St Patrick’s Craft and Hobby Men’s Shed in Rhebogue.
On to the book, reflecting the gravitas of this whole project:
“The work is accompanied by a book published by Manchester Metropolitan University with a foreword from the lady generally regarded as the leading commentator on contemporary Irish art, Professor Fionna Barber. The exhibition is endorsed by both the Limerick College of Further Education and Liverpool John Moores University”.
Current until January 17 at The Granary.
