County Armagh: Arts

County Armagh, in the province of Ulster is one of the six counties in Northern Ireland. Its population is 141,000 and its county seat is in Armagh Town. Ever since St. Patrick came to Ireland in the fifth century and converted the population to Christianity, Armagh has been the preeminent Catholic centre of Ulster.

Early Visual Arts

Not surprisingly, given the importance of Armagh in Irish religious history, its early Irish art is Christian in origin. For example, one of the earliest artworks associated with the county is the Book of the Angel (640), produced by the monastic scribe Ferdomnach and his assistants. It incorporates material of St. Martin of Tours, St. Patrick's Confession, and gives a unique glimpse of Armagh in the early medieval era. One hundred and fifty years later, the illuminated gospel manuscript known as the Book of Armagh (c.805), was created by unknown monks in one of the county's monasteries. Unfinished, its level of illumination is quite low, and several pages on the Apostles lack the amount of colour which appears in other early Christian manuscripts like the Book of Durrow or the Book of Kells. In addition, the abbeys of Armagh - being undoubted centres of Christian and secular scholarship and culture - would have produced other artworks, such as Celtic-style metalwork and scriptural sculpture. Sadly, little remains of these fine arts and crafts.

Turn of the Tide,
by Armagh artist Cecil Maguire.

Famous Artists

County Armagh's renowned painters include: Charles Lamb, (Landscape Artist, Portrait and Figure Painter); Cecil Maguire, (Landscape and Figurative Artist); James H Flack, (Watercolour Landscapes); Nicola Russell, (Contemporary Painter of Witty Colourful Paintings); John Skelton, (Illustrator and Academic Figurative Painter); and John Vallely, (Semi-Expressionist Painter and Muralist).

Art Venues

The foremost art space in the county is the Armagh County Museum in Armagh Town which accomodates two exhibition galleries in which is displayed the Museum's permanent art collection. The collection features paintings, prints, ceramics and some Irish sculpture.

Portraits of local scenery and people are well represented among works by established Irish artists such as: James Humbert Craig, TP Flanagan, Tom Carr, Charles Lamb, John Luke, JB Vallely and William Conor. The Armagh art collection also includes a series of over 20 works by George "AE" Russell, including: "The Potato Gatherers" and "Women on a Hillside" which featured on the album cover of the Irish CD "A Woman's Heart". The centre also stages temporary exhibitions of many different art media.

Canal, Summer, Mespil Road Dublin
by Armagh artist John Skelton.

Art Galleries

Among the other art venues in the County are: the Eakin Gallery, Armagh Town (02838-872013); Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown (02838-394415); and Prentice Gallery, Portadown (02838-353377).

• For more about Irish culture, see: Visual Arts in Ireland.
• For more about the cultural heritage of Ireland, see: Irish Art: Visual Arts in Cork.

• How to Update This Mini Review of Art in Armagh.