Craft Leaders Caucus Study Tour:
A Touch of Ireland
Wednesday, May 5 to Thursday, May 13, 2010
David and Clemmer Montague, Tour Leaders
Consulting with Des Doyle, Collector and Craft Tourism Development Manager, and
Una Parsons, Executive Director, Crafts Council of Ireland,
Castle Yard, Kilkenny, Ireland
Failte Ireland, Irish Tourist Council
And
A Touch of Ireland Tour OperatorSign Up Now!
Cara Murphy
The James Renwick Alliance (JRA) Board of Directors, the Craft Leaders Caucus Chair Barbara Berlin and tour leaders David and Clemmer Montague invite members of the JRA Craft Leaders Caucus to participate in a craft study tour to Ireland.
Programming for the tour will begin mid afternoon of Wednesday, May 5, and conclude a week later, the evening of Wednesday, May 12. Craft study participants will have the option of returning to the United States or flying to London on Thursday, May 13, on which date they are invited to the private view of the British Craft Council’s annual show COLLECT 2010. Unless participants plan to spend additional time in Ireland prior to or after the Craft Study tour, they should plan to leave the States on Tuesday, May 4, and depart Ireland on Thursday, May 13.
Sara Flynn
The JRA worked closely with the Irish Craft Council for almost two years to organize this craft study tour. The Montagues, (tour leaders) were fortunate to be able to participate in a familiarization tour of the Irish Craft in 2007, and they were highly impressed by high quality, diversity and affordability of Irish craft. Ireland is a truly delightful country in which to travel: the people and the craft artists are utterly charming; there any number of cultural landmarks which are readily accessible; and the Irish Craft Council and Irish artists are looking forward to welcoming the James Renwick Alliance trip participants.
The caucus study tour offers a wide variety of trip activities including private homes; important museum collections; studio visits, and special forums in selected cities where 6-8 important artists will make presentations and have work available for sale. The tour leaders have made a special effort to feature the Irish cultural heritage as an integral part of our trip. In Dublin, for example, there will be a walking tour of Dublin’s Georgian architecture, a visit the Book of Kells at Trinity College, and a tour the National Gallery of Ireland.
Liam Flynn
The caucus study tour will begin late Wednesday afternoon, May 5, with a walking tour, a visit to the Book of Kells at Trinity College, visits to various craft galleries in the heart of Dublin, and a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.
Thursday will be a full day of craft activities in Dublin. The day will begin with a visit to the Tower Design Centre filled with a large variety of artists’ studios. Following this visit, we will have our first craft artist forum with prominent craft artists working in or around Dublin, who have been invited to talk about their work and to have pieces for sale. Also included will be a guided tour of contemporary craft at the National Museum of Ireland (Collins Barracks) and a visit to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Dinner will be in a private home. Accommodations in Dublin for two nights are at the O’Callaghan Davenport Hotel at Merrion Square www.TheDavenportHotel.com.
Friday morning we will depart for Belfast in Northern Ireland. En route, is a stop at Newgrange, one of Ireland’s most revered (Megalithic Passage) sites, a World Heritage site, and a private lunch at the Beaulieu House near Drogheda.
www.knowthp.com/newgrange. Afternoon activities will include craft studio and gallery visits. Saturday activities in Belfast will include a visit to the Ulster Museum, studio visits with glass artist Karl Harron and wood-turner Mark Harvey (del Mano Gallery represents him in the US). Accommodations for the two nights are at the Hastings Culloden Hotel www.HastingsHotels.com/Culloden.
On Saturday, we will visit historic sites and artist studios and drive to Tullamore, Co. Offaly, to visit silversmith and wild goose Kevin O’Dwyer. Kevin will introduce the group to his own work in silver and also to the celebrated Lough Boora Sculpture Parklands, a peat bog now featuring large site-specific sculptures, made from materials left over from the past manufacture of peat. The day will conclude with a visit to Birr Castle, home of the Seventh Earl of Rosse and Lady Rosse. www.birrcastle.com. The Renwick tour will have a private tour of Birr Castle with Lord and Lady Rosse, followed by drinks and dinner in the evening with our hosts. One night accommodation is at the County Arms Hotel, Birr, Co. Offaly. www.countryarmshotel.com.
For the new week, Monday, begins with a journey to Kilkenny City, a charming medieval city that is home to the Irish Craft Council. We will visit the headquarters of the craft council with a tour and talk at the National Craft Gallery. Other activities include a walking tour of Kilkenny including the historic castle; gallery visits, and a second craft artists’ forum with a wide range of craft artists from the south and east of Ireland. One night accommodation is at the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel. www.kilkennyormonde.com.
Mike McCrory
Tuesday morning, we travel to Galway, stopping en route to visit artists’ studios. Once again, the Irish Craft Council will be hosting a third craft artists’ forum, in this instance, the artists based in the west and north of Ireland. The afternoon will be free to enjoy leisure time in Galway City. The final day’s activities include a visit to Connemara, a most beautiful landscape and an opportunity to visit three artists who live in this special place. Lunch will be at a traditional Irish pub – O’Dowd’s Seafood in Roundstone - before returning to Galway City for a gala farewell evening meal at a top Galway restaurant. Accommodation for two nights is at the Hotel Meyrick, Eyre Square, Galway. www.hotelmeyrick.com.
On Thursday, May 13, following an Irish breakfast at the hotel, trip participants transfer at 9 a.m. to Shannon International Airport for the homeward flights or continue onto London for COLLECT 2010.
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