Harmonious Variations
Brian McAvera talks to fellow Northerner John B Valley ahead of his December exhibition at the Gerard Davis Gallery in Dublin

Hibernian salon des refusés
On the 60th anniversary of the inaugural Living Art exhibition Riann Coulter recalls the aims and impact of the founders

Recovered Celtic Treasure
The Tully Lough Cross, a rare example of a metal-encased cross of the 8th or 9th century, and a recent valuable addition to the Treasury at the National Museum is critically discussed by Eamonn P Kelly

Hennessy Craig Scholarship
Paul M O’Reilly discusses Landscape by Michael Canning, the recipient of the Hennessy Craig Scholarship at this year’s 173rd RHA Annual Exhibition

Lustre and fire
Róisín de Buitléar charts the emergence of contemporary studio glass and highlights some of the exhibits at Inspirational Awakening, the art-glass conference and exhibition to be held in Waterford this autumn

Challenging the Classical landscape
Marianne O’Kane outlines the benefits of the PSI prize and profiles this year’s recipient Niamh O’Malley

Real presences
Nicola Gordon Bowe connects with Janet Mullarney’s emotionally engaging sculpture to be seen in October at the Taylor Galleries in Dublin

An ideal witness
Peter Murray assesses the work of versatile artist Robert Ballagh on the occasion of the unveiling of a new portrait of Micheal Farrell at the Crawford Gallery of Art, Cork

Eyewitness: four decades of northern life
Philip Napier takes a hard look at Brendan Murphy’s powerful images spanning four decades of life in Northern Ireland

Architectural Renaissance
John Goulding is impressed with some recent architecture in Galway that stand as exemplars for future development

A Northern Maecenas
Compelled to leave Vienna in 1939, Zoltan Lewinter-Frankl’s unplanned emigration to Northern Ireland had a positive impact on art patronage there, writes Mark Adams

Coole park: from big house to people’s park
Lionel Pilkington interprets the legacy of Coole Park in the context of Lady Gregory’s and Yeats’ writing and anticipates its future potential as a place of continuing cultural stimulus

Portumna restored
In light of the restoration of Portumna Castle, Jane Fenlon discusses its architectural and social history while John Mulcahy sketches the full but tragically brief life of one of its occupants, Honora Burke

Illuminating Faith
In this the centenary year of An Túr Gloine, David Caron chronicles the development of Michael Healy’s aesthetic in the luminously beautiful stained glass at St Brendan’s Cathedral in Loughrea

International Perspective
Eleanor Flegg presents a house in Galway that successfully projects the design ideals of the International Style

Sleight of Hand
Peter Lamb finds traditional forms boldly reinvented at the Create contemporary furniture exhibition at Fota House in Cork this autumn