To mark the anniversary of his birth John Coleman reflects on three contrasting portraits of Jonathan Swift
This year, 30 November to be exact, marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Swift (1667- 1745), Dean of Dublin’s St Patrick’s Cathedral and author of Gulliver’s Travels (1727), whose ‘savage indignation’ produced the historically important Drapier’s Letters and A Modest Proposal (1729) which still has the power to shock the reader. He is also fixed in the popular imagination for his complex relationships with Stella and Vanessa and his posthumous generosity in founding St Patrick’s Hospital. Among the events marking the anniversary, sixty papers were delivered at an international interdisciplinary conference Swift350′ which took place in Dublin in June, including a review of portraits of Swift.
To the Irish in America, the irony of using funds from a Fenian club to buy a set of Malton views depicting Georgian Dublin was not apparent, writes Christian Dupont
Linda Brunker’s female avatars affirm nature and spirit. Mark Ewart talks to the Irish sculptor as she departs California for France
The magic realism of Sweeney’s transformation from man to bird continues Gabhann Dunne’s association with the natural world, writes Susan Campbell