‘House of Art’: A remarkable journey through the portrait collection of Leinster House

House of Art, a new documentary which explores some of the key portraits hanging in Leinster House, will be broadcast on Oireachtas TV on Monday February 26th at 8pm. Renowned Irish Artist and President of the RHA, Mick O’Dea takes viewers on a remarkable journey through the halls of the nation’s seat of parliament to view these rarely seen artworks, while at the same time sharing intimate insights from his own studio, as he completes a commission of President Michael D. Higgins. The documentary is produced and directed by Redshoe Productions in association with Oireachtas TV and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

The hour-long documentary features a host of works from the National Collection including portraits of Eamon De Valera, Austin Stack, Michael Collins, Sean Lemass, Jack Lynch, Charles J. Haughey, Garret FitzGerald and Bertie Ahern, amongst others. Many of Ireland’s great artists are represented including William Orpen, Leo Whelan, Maurice MacGonigal, Sean O’Sullivan, John Kelly, Edward McGuire and Carey Clark. Three centuries of Ireland’s history and a century of Ireland’s art history are told through the artworks that hang on the walls of Leinster House.

Síghle Bhreathnach Lynch, former Curator of Irish Art at the National Gallery of Ireland, speaks about portraiture and our national identity: “The state is an abstract idea. You have the territory, but it needs more than that. For communities to have an allegiance between each other, you have to have a tangible sense of what the state is all about and therefore you have the use of art, literature and music…to create that tangibility, and so it gives a sense of ourselves, beyond a political or a religious identity.”

Ciaran MacGonigal, son of artist Maurice MacGonigal, shares stories of his father Maurice’s paintings in the collection, from the poignant research of medical records for a posthumous painting of Austin Stack, to charming reminisces of sittings with Sean Lemass, the glitter of his large Rolex watch and his many sets of cufflinks, and how his father would praise ‘some of the great chieftains of the world as it existed’, to rile his friend and Taoiseach.

O’Dea visits with former OPW Art Advisor Pat Murphy, touring the portraits of some of Ireland’s modern Taoisigh, uncovering the stories behind the paintings, how artists were chosen, examining portraits, contrasting and comparing styles and approaches, reflecting on both sitter and artist and the times in which these superb works were created. Artist James Hanley RHA discusses the role of the portrait painter in the creation of the iconography of the state, together with personal insights on his portrait of Bertie Ahern, which he undertook at the height of the Celtic Tiger, just a few days after 9/11.

House of Art is a unique look at our politicians and historical figures through the eyes of the artist, with a stunning musical accompaniment by Moya Doherty, Cormac de Barra and Lynne Earls, written and recorded for the documentary. House of Art is produced by Ciara Nic Chormaic and Maggie Breathnach and directed by Maggie Breathnach of the IFTA award-winning Redshoe Productions in association with Oireachtas TV and the BAI

Oireachtas TV is available on the following channels: Saorview 22/Virgin Media 207/Sky Channel 574/
eir Vision 504 / Vodafone 201