With the Crawford Art Gallery closed for renovations, the importance of local galleries in Cork has become ever more important.
With the Crawford Art Gallery closed for renovations, the importance of local galleries in Cork has become ever more important. Of these, Cnoc Buí in West Cork has emerged as a significant addition to the county’s arts infrastructure. Used also for performances and readings, the main gallery – which extends to almost two thousand square feet – is set in an idyllic location, beside the sea in Union Hall, just west of Glandore. The result of a local initiative rather than any policy decision by a state body, the distinctive, yellow-painted house called Cnoc Buí, or ‘Yellow Hill’, is just one element in an ambitious arts enterprise. The next phase will see the renovation of a range of 18th-century houses in a courtyard behind the gallery to provide for residencies and studios.
In the space of just two years, Cnoc Buí has taken pride of place amongst the galleries and studios in West Cork, while serving as a community centre for the area. The enterprise is led by the former head of the University of Limerick’s Graduate Entry Medical School, Paul Finucane, and his wife, Aileen. Over the past decade they have built up an important collection of work by Irish women artists and have also commissioned a series of works depicting Glandore Harbour. The Union Hall Collection now comprises over forty pieces, by artists including Vivienne Bogan, Una Sealy, Martin Gale, Robert Ballagh and Donald Teskey. The summer exhibition, ‘West Cork Creates’, exhibited works from over thirty artists, while two solo shows, featuring work by Gary Casey and Colin Murphy, run until 7 September. From 11 – 28 September, the Union Hall Collection is on view, along with a retrospective of the late portraitist Donal O’Sullivan, after which the centre will close until the spring.
Cnoc Buí’s contribution to the arts was acknowledged when the centre was shortlisted for the Cork County Mayor’s Community Award 2025.
Peter Murray
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