Style and Substance
Robert Ballagh recalls his early Pop influences and apprenticeship with Micheal Farrell in an interview with Brian McAvera ahead of his retrospective at the RHA in September

Design Portfolio
Irish design retains its standard of excellence both at home and abroad, reports ELEANOR FLEGG, as SOFA showcases Irish craft in Chicago, 'Spark' puts Donegal craft makers on the map, and Irish architecture is exhibited in Venice this autumn

The Difficulty With Desire
Regina Gleeson reports on Nick Miller’s latest departure from landscape to nudes

John Kindness: Rewriting Art History
Marianne O’Kane previews John Kindness’ retrospective in Belfast

Activating the Canvas
Patrick T Murphy sees the emergence of a major talent in the recent body of work to be exhibited at the RHA, in mid-September, by US–based, Irish painter Tim Hawkesworth

Sarah Walker: A Naturalist in Hyperborea
Ciarán Bennett sees a formalist’s concern for structure combined with an emphatic sense of place running through the work of Sarah Walker

From Concept to Colour
Mic Moroney discusses the career of Michael Craig-Martin whose star has risen sharply in the art world since the 1990s

The Arts in Kerry: a sense of place
John O’Donoghue, T.D., Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism introduces special extended coverage of the Arts in Kerry

Bewick’s Seven Ages
The power and intensity of Pauline Bewick’s depiction of nature puts her firmly in the tradition of romantic landscape artists, argues Alannah Hopkin

The Art of Reduction
Catherine Marshall reviews the evolving artistic expression of Maria Simonds-Gooding

Jerome Connor: Sculptor of Irish America
In an era steeped with enthusiasm for the Celtic Revival, America’s humanist influence on sculptor Jerome Connor caused scepticism among Irish patrons, writes John Turpin

Image, Ingenuity and Enterprise
Donal Horgan examines the Victorian visitor to Kerry through a number of photographs from the Stereo Pair Collection c.1860-1883

The Liberator: Images of Daniel O’Connell
Ruán O’Donnell charts the aspirations and changing status of the resurgent middle classes behind the various depictions of statesman Daniel O’Connell

Written on Stone
Kerry has the highest concentration of Ogam stones in Ireland, writes Damian McManus as he discusses their purpose in early Christian Ireland

An Architectural Enigma
Peter Harbison writes on the remarkable Staigue Fort in County Kerry

The Philosophers’ Garden
Derreen Demesne in County Kerry is a flourishing example of the care and devotion of its enthusiastic and devoted owners, past and present, writes Nigel Everett

Tarbert House, County Kerry
Desmond FitzGerald assesses the artistic interpretations of Tarbert House and landscape

Taste & Sensibility – The Patronage of Cooper Penrose
Peter Murray recalls the extraordinary lifestyle of Cooper Penrose, scion of one of Cork’s most successful mercantile families

Where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt
Michael Dempsey assesses the impact of Hughie O’Donoghue’s artwork created for the Bon Secours Chapel in County Galway

Silver Connections
Catherine Bates previews an exhibition of work from three members of the McCrory family

F orm, function and decoration
Audrey Whitty discusses the six Irish artists selected for European Ceramic Context 2006