Robert Ballagh
Encyclopedia
Robert "Bobby" Ballagh is an Irish
artist, painter and designer. He was born in Dublin and studied at the Bolton Street College of Technology
. His painting style was strongly influenced by pop art
. He is particularly well known for his hyperealistic renderings of well known Irish literary, historical or establishment figures.
Ballagh grew up in a ground-floor flat on Elgin Road in Ballsbridge
, the only child of a Presbyterian father and a Catholic
mother, both of whom had played sport for Ireland. He became an atheist while at school, despite being educated at Blackrock College
. Before turning to art as a profession, he was a professional musician with the showband Chessmen. He met artist Michael Farrell during this period, and Farrell recruited him to assist with a large mural commission
, which was painted at Ardmore Studios
.
Ballagh represented Ireland at the 1969 Biennale de Paris
. Among the theatre sets he has designed are sets for Riverdance
,I'll Go On, Gate Theatre
(1985), Samuel Beckett
's Endgame
(1991) and Oscar Wilde
's Salomé
(1998). He has also designed over 70 Irish postage stamps and the last series of Irish banknotes, "Series C
", before the introduction of the euro
. He is a member of Aosdána
. Ballagh's paintings are held in several public collections of Irish painting including the National Gallery of Ireland
, the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Ulster Museum
, Trinity College Dublin, and Nuremberg's Albrecht Durer House.
In 1991, he co-ordinated the 75th anniversary commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising
, during which he claimed he had been harassed by the Special Branch of the Garda Síochána
.
He is the president of the Ireland Institute for Historical and Cultural Studies, which promotes international republicanism. It is based at the new Pearse centre at 27 Pearse Street, Dublin. It was birthplace of Pádraig Pearse in 1879.
Ballagh attracted widespread criticism in 1994 when expressing his views in favour of not extraditing the convicted child abuser Fr. Brendan Smith to Northern Ireland on the RTE "Questions and Answers" program. The Brendan Smith controversy ultimate lead to the downfall of the Labour-Fianna Fail government.
In July 2011 it was reported that he may consider running for the 2011 Irish Presidential election with the backing of Sinn Féin
and the United Left Alliance
. A Sinn Féin source confirmed there had been "very informal discussions" and that Ballagh's nomination was "a possibility" but "very loose at this stage". However, on 25 July Ballagh ruled out running in the election, saying that he had never considered being a candidate. His discussions with the parties had been about the election "in general" and he had no ambitions to run for political office.
That same month, Ballagh broke ranks with his colleagues in the traveling production of Riverdance
in their decision to perform in Israel. Ballagh is an active member of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign
, which has encouraged artists and academics to participate in boycotts of Israeli businesses and cultural institutions.
In October 2011, Ballagh endorsed Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness
in his Irish presidential election bid.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
artist, painter and designer. He was born in Dublin and studied at the Bolton Street College of Technology
Dublin Institute of Technology
Dublin Institute of Technology was established officially in 1992 under the but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. The institution can trace its origins back to 1887 with the establishment of various technical institutions in Dublin, Ireland...
. His painting style was strongly influenced by pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
. He is particularly well known for his hyperealistic renderings of well known Irish literary, historical or establishment figures.
Ballagh grew up in a ground-floor flat on Elgin Road in Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, named for the bridge spanning the River Dodder on the south side of the city. The sign on the bridge still proclaims it as "Ball's Bridge" in recognition of the fact that the original bridge in this location was built and owned by a Mr...
, the only child of a Presbyterian father and a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
mother, both of whom had played sport for Ireland. He became an atheist while at school, despite being educated at Blackrock College
Blackrock College
Blackrock College is a Catholic voluntary secondary school for boys aged 14–18, located in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. The College was founded by French missionaries in 1860, to act as a school and civil service training centre. Set in of grounds, it has an illustrious...
. Before turning to art as a profession, he was a professional musician with the showband Chessmen. He met artist Michael Farrell during this period, and Farrell recruited him to assist with a large mural commission
Commission (art)
In art, a commission is the hiring and payment for the creation of a piece, often on behalf of another.In classical music, ensembles often commission pieces from composers, where the ensemble secures the composer's payment from private or public organizations or donors.- Commissions for public art...
, which was painted at Ardmore Studios
Ardmore Studios
Ardmore Studios is a film studio in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland which was founded by Emmet Dalton and opened by the Minister for Industry and Commerce Seán Lemass on May 12, 1958....
.
Ballagh represented Ireland at the 1969 Biennale de Paris
Biennale de Paris
-History:The 'Biennale de Paris' was launched by Raymond Cogniat in 1959 and set up by André Malraux as he was Minister of Culture to present an overview of young creativity worldwide and to create a place of experiences and meetings.-Presentation:...
. Among the theatre sets he has designed are sets for Riverdance
Riverdance
Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish stepdancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept largely stationary. It originated as an interval performance during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, a moment that is still considered a significant...
,I'll Go On, Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
(1985), Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
's Endgame
Endgame (play)
Endgame, by Samuel Beckett, is a one-act play with four characters, written in a style associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. It was originally written in French ; as was his custom, Beckett himself translated it into English. The play was first performed in a French-language production at the...
(1991) and Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's Salomé
Salome (play)
Salome is a tragedy by Oscar Wilde.The original 1891 version of the play was in French. Three years later an English translation was published...
(1998). He has also designed over 70 Irish postage stamps and the last series of Irish banknotes, "Series C
Series C Banknotes (Ireland)
The Series C Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland were the final series of notes created for the state before the advent of the euro; it replaced Series B Banknotes. The series gradually entered circulation from 1992 and remained in circulation until 2002....
", before the introduction of the euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
. He is a member of Aosdána
Aosdána
Aosdána is an Irish association of Artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers and with support from the Arts Council of Ireland. Membership, which is by invitation from current members, is limited to 250 individuals; before 2005 it was limited to 200...
. Ballagh's paintings are held in several public collections of Irish painting including the National Gallery of Ireland
National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and opened its doors ten years later...
, the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Ulster Museum
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
, Trinity College Dublin, and Nuremberg's Albrecht Durer House.
In 1991, he co-ordinated the 75th anniversary commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
, during which he claimed he had been harassed by the Special Branch of the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
.
He is the president of the Ireland Institute for Historical and Cultural Studies, which promotes international republicanism. It is based at the new Pearse centre at 27 Pearse Street, Dublin. It was birthplace of Pádraig Pearse in 1879.
Ballagh attracted widespread criticism in 1994 when expressing his views in favour of not extraditing the convicted child abuser Fr. Brendan Smith to Northern Ireland on the RTE "Questions and Answers" program. The Brendan Smith controversy ultimate lead to the downfall of the Labour-Fianna Fail government.
In July 2011 it was reported that he may consider running for the 2011 Irish Presidential election with the backing of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and the United Left Alliance
United Left Alliance
The United Left Alliance is an electoral alliance of left-wing political parties and independent politicians in the Republic of Ireland, formed to contest the 2011 general election...
. A Sinn Féin source confirmed there had been "very informal discussions" and that Ballagh's nomination was "a possibility" but "very loose at this stage". However, on 25 July Ballagh ruled out running in the election, saying that he had never considered being a candidate. His discussions with the parties had been about the election "in general" and he had no ambitions to run for political office.
That same month, Ballagh broke ranks with his colleagues in the traveling production of Riverdance
Riverdance
Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish stepdancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept largely stationary. It originated as an interval performance during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, a moment that is still considered a significant...
in their decision to perform in Israel. Ballagh is an active member of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign is a campaign in the United Kingdom promoting solidarity with the Palestinian people. It was founded in 1982 during the build-up to Israel's invasion of Lebanon.The campaign states:...
, which has encouraged artists and academics to participate in boycotts of Israeli businesses and cultural institutions.
In October 2011, Ballagh endorsed Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
in his Irish presidential election bid.
Work in Collections
- National Gallery of IrelandNational Gallery of IrelandThe National Gallery of Ireland houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and opened its doors ten years later...
- Ulster MuseumUlster MuseumThe Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
- Hugh Lane Municipal GalleryHugh Lane Municipal GalleryDublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane is an art gallery funded by Dublin City Council and located in Charlemont House in Dublin, Ireland. Charlemont House was originally the town house of James Caulfeild, the 1st Earl of Charlemont and was designed by Sir William Chambers.Previously called the...
- Albrecht Dürer House, NurembergNurembergNuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
- Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
- Crawford Art Gallery, Cork