A new temporary exhibit created in collaboration with community groups and inspired by the 19th century Land League movement has gone on display at the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
‘Housing for the People’ is a contemporary banner designed by artists Caleb Daly and Luke Ryan in collaboration with Anthony Haughey and Ballina Textiles Group.
It was created as part of Anthony Haughey’s collaborative and socially engaged residency at the National Museum of Ireland for the Decade of Centenaries programme.
The artwork was inspired by a Land League banner from Cullen, Co. Tipperary, which is on permanent display in the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life.
Mr Haughey has worked with more than 500 participants from communities across Ireland during the course of his residency from 2021 to 2024. ‘Housing for the People’ is one of the outputs of that residency along with the major new exhibition we make our own histories, which runs until June 2024 at the National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History, Collins Barracks, Dublin 7.
The main element of the ‘Housing for the People’ banner at Turlough Park is a central image of Eugène Delacroix’s La Liberté Guidant le People (1830), an artwork synonymous with justice for all marginalised people. In the banner, the female figure of 'liberty' is replaced by 'lustica' as she appears in Dublin Castle and the Four Courts, adding to the Irish context of the banner.
It also features a portrait of Michael Davitt, the co-founder of the National Irish Land League from Straide in Co. Mayo, and a portrait of social activist and advocate for homeless people, Fr. Peter McVerry.
