Temple Bar
10th President
13th April – 8th June | Launch: 11th April at 6pm
Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, 5 – 9 Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Opening hours: Tues – Saturday 11am – 6pm
Temple Bar Gallery + Studios is pleased to present 10th President, a project by Irish artist Seamus Nolan. As a way of honouring the survivors of institutional abuse in Ireland and of recognising those who died in institutional and State care, Seamus Nolan has invited President Michael D Higgins to hand over, for the period of one day, the Presidency of Ireland posthumously to Willie Delaney, a child who died whilst under the care of the state. Willie Delaney, 13 when he died had spent the preceding three years in St Joseph’s industrial school Letterfrack, Co. Galway. His name has been put forward by Seamus Nolan as a representative of the children who have suffered abuse, neglect and fatal injury throughout the history of the state. On the 20th of May an event organised by Seamus Nolan will take place to commemorate the publishing of the Ryan report and to confer posthumously the role of president upon Willie Delaney. This coronation will take place regardless of whether the proposal is accepted or not by the office of the President. The exhibition at Temple Bar Gallery + Studio will include, alongside documentation and artefacts from the process and development of the project, a film work by Seamus Nolan which touches on the story of Willie Delaney’s short life and death. Free texts about Willie Delaney and the legacy of his story by Fin Dwyer and Francis McKee will also be available. Also on display will be a version of the Presidential seal re-designed by Jim Fitzpatrick By presenting this material in a public exhibition space, the project seeks to address the unquestioned acceptance of State and religious authority over the rights of the individual and the welfare of the most vulnerable. In conferring the highest authority in the country on to William Delaney, Nolan aims to activate a dialogical, cultural and historic relationship between those that are honoured and those who have the power to honour.
10th President is commissioned by Temple Bar Gallery + Studios with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Council. It is also part funded under the National Culture Programme marking Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Dublintellectual is a cultural organisation that has recently opened its office at Scarlet Row, in Temple Bar . It is an innovative project with a focus on the Arts and Humanities that seeks to connect the university and the city. Affiliated with Trinity College Dublin, they host a number of eclectic events across the city with their Conversations on Culture series now going into its second year. Next month, they plan to launch an Urban Programme that will bring together scholars and cultural practitioners to discuss issues affecting the city today. Their Uprising series will kick off this month showcasing the work of postgraduate students and young emerging artists and cultural figures. | www.dublintellectual.ie
