Exhibitions

Créatúir na Cartlainne | Tails from the Archive

Dublin, Ireland

A menagerie of beasts and beloved pets emerges from Irish archives, blending ancient linguistics with intimate artist sketches.

Stephen McKenna, Stamp from 1955,

Image credit

Stephen McKenna, Stamp from 1955, Republic of Silesia, c. 2005, © Estate of Stephen McKenna, Centre for the Study of Irish Art, National Gallery of Ireland

Meet the artist

Stephen McKenna, Nancy Wynne-Jones, Conor Fallon, Bea Orpen, Barrie Cooke, Elizabeth C. Yeats, Oisín Kelly, Anne Yeats, Daniel O’Neill, Justin Larkin, Basil Rákóczi, Jack B. Yeats, Deborah Brown, Walter Osborne, William Orpen

The Movement

Drawing, Naturalism

ArtLovers Tip

Look closely at the stamps and small scale maquettes; these were often personal experiments or gifts rather than public commissions, offering a raw look at an artist's process. A small Dublin gem — playful, thoughtful and full of life. Perfect for anyone who loves animals, archives, Irish culture, or the quiet magic of seeing forgotten things return to view.

Exhibition Highlights - What you'll see

This exhibition draws from the Centre for the Study of Irish Art to explore our enduring bond with animals. Through forgotten sketchbooks, maquettes, and watercolours by figures like Jack B. Yeats and Nancy Wynne-Jones, it pairs visual art with the lyrical richness of the Irish language. It is a study of companionship and awe, where the stroke of a pen meets the evocative power of words like cluasachán (long-eared animal).

You're watching a delicate paper menagerie within the quiet intimacy of Room 11. The light is low to protect the fragile watercolours, creating a sense of being let into a private world of personal letters and preliminary thoughts. You see tiny creatures and wild beasts tucked between the lines of cursive scripts, making the gallery feel less like a museum and more like a shared library of secrets.

Worth the trip

  • Linguistic depth: Discover how poetic Irish proverbs and specific animal descriptors provide a unique lens for viewing historic sketches.
  • Rotating treasures: Because of their fragility, the works on paper will rotate four times, offering a fresh experience for returning visitors.
  • Archival intimacy: Access personal maquettes and illustrated letters that are rarely removed from the National Gallery's permanent archives.

How to experience it

Move slowly through the room to catch the subtle humor in the margins of the artists' letters. Admission is free, allowing for multiple visits to see the different rotations of work. After leaving the gallery, walk through Merrion Square Park nearby to watch the local wildlife and reflect on the cluasachán you just saw on paper.

Visit time / Density: Compact and accessible. You can visit it in around 20–30 minutes, or allow 45 minutes if you want to read the Irish-language elements and enjoy the archive details slowly.

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