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The intention of this article is to provide an overview of the achievements and legacy of the Gorey Arts Centre and associated arts festival, founded by Paul Funge in 1970.  It is not a comprehensive paper and not all of the events which took place in Gorey over the years are dealt with.  The important issue of funding and the establishment and composition of the board among other issues have also not been addressed.  In addition not all of the people, who performed, exhibited, taught, volunteered or who were in other ways involved with the centre and festivals are included.  Their contribution was no less valuable and they were equally a part of what made the centre and festivals such a success.  Paul’s papers have not yet been archived and in many cases, the papers, photographs, press cuttings and other material available were not dated or the sources noted, although it will undoubtedly be possible to establish this information when the archiving of his papers begins. In some cases it has not been possible to identify all the people present in some of the photographs used, and I apologise for these omissions.  I understand from Paul’s family that there is still a good deal of material to go through, but I was unable do so for the purpose of this research.  It is hoped that a more in-depth publication will be undertaken at a future date.

In the Centre and on the Edge: Paul Funge and the Gorey Arts Centre by Kate Walsh

For three weeks each year during the 1970s and early 1980s, the quiet town of Gorey in County Wexford was transformed.  The town became a mecca for artists, writers, musicians and actors as well as for those interested in the arts.  Well-known and distinguished figures from theatre, music, writing and the visual arts mingled with the local people and with those just beginning their artistic careers.  The Gorey Arts Centre was established in 1970 by the late Paul Funge, a native of Gorey, and was the first such centre to have been set up in Ireland outside of Dublin.  Funge, an internationally renowned artist, was also a teacher and arts administrator as well as an accomplished musician.  In 1978 he became the first regional Arts Officer to be appointed to the Mid-West region in Ireland. He also held the position of Inspector of Art with the Department of Education.  He was a founder director of the Project Arts Centre in Dublin with the sculptor John Behan and the artist Michael Kane among others.  This, the first arts centre in Ireland, was founded in 1967 (the year Paul graduated from the National College of Art and Design), after a successful arts festival held in the Gate Theatre.  Paul believed that the arts should be available to everyone but was also aware that that the art scene in Ireland was centered mainly in the cities, particularly in Dublin.  With this in mind, and energised by what was achieved by the setting up of the Project Arts Centre and the potential of this new initiative, he set about establishing a centre outside the capital city.  Where better to begin than in his hometown of Gorey?  Thus the Gorey Arts Centre was founded, incorporating the Gorey Arts festival.  Even by today’s standards, a three weeks arts programme was an ambitious undertaking but what Funge achieved during the fourteen years when the centre was in existence was both extraordinary and visionary and surpassed anything that was happening elsewhere in Ireland at the time.

The Gorey Arts Centre was originally known as the Funge Arts Centre but the name was changed in order to broaden its appeal for sponsorship and fundraising.  It was housed at the back of Funge’s family’s home on Rafter Street in Gorey.  The idea of the Centre was to promote and encourage participation in all forms of artistic expression, including music, dance, theatre, poetry and the visual arts.  It operated on a summer seasonal basis during which the Gorey Arts Festival was held.  The Centre was as Funge himself said, “an attempt to reawaken interest in the arts, and thus strengthen local tradition and identity”

The Arts Centre consisted of the studio space and adjacent large multi-purpose covered arena, where seminars, workshops, readings, master classes, concerts and theatrical events were held.  The involvement of the local community including children, as well as visitors who travelled from all over Ireland and abroad, was fostered.  Many local people were involved with the day to day running of the centre.  Several of those who volunteered in the centre and with the festival went on to become prominent figures in the arts world in their own right.  It was envisaged that, by providing the physical space (the arts centre), and bringing together artists, writers, actors and musicians, local artists would be encouraged to meet and organise their own performances, exhibits and publications.  It was hoped that in doing so, they would inspire each other.  Over the years, as the festival expanded, there was also a diverse programme of fringe events organised by clubs and societies and others from within the local community.

Children’s workshops, where children were involved in creative play and expression (mime and drama) and with visual expression, under the guidance of a qualified tutor were organised.  These workshops were aimed at children between the ages of four and ten and began with warm up exercises in movement and voice to a suggested theme.  The participants then began drawing and painting basing their work on what had been developed in the movement part of the workshop.  It was facilitated by a local and gifted teacher Margaret Grant, by Jonathan Lambert, (a member of the well-known Lambert Puppet Theatre, who performed at the festival every year), and by local man Eamonn Carter, who Paul once described as his "right hand man".  Some years later Carter went on to found the Gorey School of Art, which continues to grow from strength to strength.

Paul entered finished work by some of the children into the annual Texaco Art Competition and over the years had a number of winners in a variety of categories.  These innovative workshops encouraged children to become active participants in the Arts Centre and for many it became their earliest involvement in drama and painting.  This model is still used in children’s workshops today.

Although Paul himself was a painter, the festival was a celebration of all the arts and music, dance and drama were integral aspects of the programme.  Almost all facets of musical tastes were catered for and included jazz, folk, rock, traditional and classical music.  In addition to well-known musicians and those beginning their musical careers, Funge brought the Glasnevin Musical Society and the National Ballet Company to the town.  The Glasnevin Musical Society was a regular visitor over the years and as well as performing at the festival, took part in church services in the locality, delighting congregations with their church music.

Looking through the festival programmes and posters, it is astounding to see the diversity and quality of music which was on offer over these years and each year saw new events added.  Famous acts such The Chieftains, Clannad, the folk singers Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy, Andy Irvine and Paul Brady and the Breton musician Alan Stivell all performed at some point during the various festivals.  Traditional music was always a strong feature of the events held at the Centre.  The renowned piper Seamus Ennis, acclaimed accordion player Tony McMahon, traditional singer and whistle player, the late Miko Russell as well as the flute player Matt Molloy and the fiddle player Paddy Glackin all performed there.  Glackin and Molloy (who was at one time a member of The Chieftains), appeared as solo musicians and later as founder members, they came with the Bothy band. 

The career of Irish musician Donal Lunny, who is regarded as a significant figure in the music world in Ireland and abroad, may be traced to a large degree through his appearances at the Gorey Arts festival.  He began his career with the group We4 and moved on to be a member of Planxty, the Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, all of who performed on various occasions at the festival.  The folk singer Christy Moore, (another founder member of Planxty and Moving Hearts) and also performed at the festival both as a solo artist and band member.  All three bands enjoyed significant success both in Ireland, throughout Europe and in the United States and Canada.  They, along with the Chieftains, were responsible for a renewal of interest in Irish traditional and folk music and brought it to international attention and to new audiences.

New musical talent was encouraged and showcased at the Centre, and Paul was very good at spotting it.  Horslips performed at the festival in the early stage of their musical career.  Local legend tells that the first time they played there was intended to be their last as a band.  However, such was the reaction of the audience that night; they decided to remain together and went on to enjoy considerable success at home and abroad.

The Virgin Prunes, a post-punk band who emerged in the late seventies, was another group, brought to Gorey by Paul.  They were known for their sometime controversial and theatrical performances, and they went on to enjoy significant success in the music business.  He also encouraged the French folk singer Marc Perez, who performed both as a solo musician and later with his band Arthus, and Perez likewise went on to have a very successful career in the industry.  Perhaps the most celebrated band to play at Gorey were the now world famous Irish rock band U2, who at the time were described in the festival programme as “Ireland’s newest rock sensation”.

Jazz was always well represented during the festival.  The Danish jazz violinist Lief Reck and his quintet were regular performers throughout the years and the jazz guitarist Louis Stewart and his band and the jazz singer Anne Bushnall also appeared in concerts.  Classical music was another very important feature of the centre and of the musical performances.  Veronica Dunne, the celebrated opera singer who also taught at the National School of Music (now the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama) was an early supporter of the Centre.  Together with the eminent pianist John O’ Connor and the young baritone, Joe Brown, (a student of Dr. Dunne’s), she established master classes in voice and pianoforte.  Each season, they and their master class students performed in concert, providing a showcase for the talents of the young musicians.  By 1980, what became known as the Gorey International Master Classes in Advanced Musical Studies had greatly expanded.  It now included master classes in organ by the Master Organist Peter Sweeney, and in Cello and violin and String Ensemble given by Professor Milos Sadlo and Fantisek Pospisil both from Czechoslovakia.  The classes provided access to these internationally renowned musicians and teachers to students, who travelled from all over Ireland as well as abroad to participate.  Alongside these classes in classical music, master classes and workshops were conducted in jazz, traditional music and movement and dance at various times during the history of the festival.  Among those who participated in these occasional events were Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains who gave classes in uileann pipes, Paddy Clackin who taught traditional fiddle Matt Molloy who taught flute and the singer Nóirín Ní Riain who gave classes in Sean Nós singing.  Funge was a passionate advocate of education in the arts and he ensured that the best teachers and musicians in their respective fields came to Gorey to perform and teach.  It is a mark of the success of the Centre, that he was able to attract such talent.  Over the years a number of full and partial scholarship were provided to assist the most gifted students.

In the year of the tenth anniversary of the festival, the centre commissioned a musical work, composed especially for the occasion by Michaál O’ Súilleabháin. It was premiered in the Centre and was performed by the traditional flautist Matt Molloy.  The same recital featured a string orchestra, led by Audrey Parks and conducted by Proinnsias O’ Duinn.  As part of the anniversary celebrations, and in order to raise funds for a proposed new venue for the Centre, an LP, the wonderfully titled ‘Ten Gorey Years’ was released on the Lár label and included readings by two of Ireland’s most important actors, Siobhan McKenna and Cyril Cusack.

Drama and theatre were a vital part of the Centre and festival and over the years, attracting many celebrated names.  The Lantern Theatre, Dublin which was founded in 1957 by a cousin Paul’s, Patrick Funge and his wife Josephine regularly brought productions to the Centre during the festival.  Other frequent visitors included the comedian Niall Tóibín, the seanachi, Eamonn Kelly, and Ulick O’ Connor who performed his one man shows on Brendan Behan and Oliver St. John Gogarty.  The actor Jack MacGowran, a friend of Samuel Beckett opened the festival in 1972.  He had recently finished filming The Exorcist and was there to perform his one man show “Beginning to End”, which was based on the writings of Beckett.  It reflected the range of Beckett’s work, including his poetry, prose, and plays and was his last performance of the performance of the show in Ireland.

Siobhan McKenna, one of Ireland’s most distinguished actresses, came to the Centre in 1978 with her internationally acclaimed one woman show ‘Here are Ladies ’, based on a selection of Irish writings dealing with women. 

In 1982, an initiative was begun, to foster new writing in drama.  An award of £300 for an original play was given and dedicated to the memory of the late Eibhlín Barrington.  That year’s winner was a play by G. P. Gallivan for his play “And a Yellow Singing Bird”.  The centre was going in a new direction where drama was concerned and now had a focus on emerging writers for stage.  The following year, 1983, an innovative musical by Leland Bardwell, based on the life of Edith Piaf won the award.  This eventually went on tour around Ireland in association with the Arts Centre, and then into the Olympia Theatre in Dublin.  Despite receiving critical acclaim, it was not a success in Dublin and was forced to close with big losses.  This put enormous financial pressure on the Centre and led to its closure.  1984 was the last year of the Gorey Arts Centre and Festival.

In conjunction with the wide programme of concerts, exhibitions, drama and workshops, the Centre also produced a number of publications, including poetry booklets and a broadsheet, (later changed to a magazine format), “The Gorey Details”.  This publication was unique in providing a platform for emerging voices in poetry and prose juxtapositioned with the works of well-known authors.  It was edited by the poet and Professor of English Literature at the University of Wisconsin, the late James Liddy, who was a native of Coolgreaney, close to Gorey.  Six issues were published over the years that the centre was in existence.  The current Head of Painting at The National College of Art and Design, Robert Armstrong designed the publication.

Many of the new writers who contributed to the publication were later to become internationally recognised authors.  Bardic evenings were also held during the festival, where writers and poets met to read and discuss their work with each other, and in open forum.  In the year of the tenth anniversary of the festival, James Liddy delivered a lecture on James Joyce which complimented the Joyce Film Season also held that year.

The IMPAC award winner and Booker prize nominee Colm Tóibín was first published in “The Gorey Detail”.  Speaking at the Galway Arts Festival in 2011, he recalled the importance of the Gorey Arts Festival to him as a young writer and spoke of the opportunities afforded to him and other young writers in meeting and engaging with established authors of international importance and particularly recalled meeting Frank McGee and Jack MacGowran there.  There were a number of creative writing workshops held over the years and many prestigious figures from the world of literature came as guest lecturers.  These workshops were directed by Professor James Liddy.  In 1983, the renowned American poet, John Ashbury, who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize four year later, was guest professor at the workshop. Other events associated with the Creative Writing Programme at the Centre were held at various times throughout the year and for example, Seamus Heaney, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1995, came to Gorey to read and discuss his work.

Given Funge’s background both as an artist and art teacher, the visual arts were a fundamentally important aspect of the centre and festival.  He held an exhibition of his own work there every year, and also brought exhibitions by established artists as well as those beginning their career.  Colm Tóibín noted that the paintings he saw in Gorey in the early years had an enormous impact on him.  When he came to Gorey first in the early 1970’s, he said he knew nothing about painting, but the paintings he saw there in those years had more of an impact on him than any book he had read or any movies he had seen.  “Nothing as good was going on in writing” he said, observing that: Paul’s self-portrait on top of a camel or his Wexford landscapes with his own mysterious and puzzled self peering out, were wonderful paintings, part of an Irish comic tradition that had almost died out in literature.

The artist Michael Mulcahy held his first solo exhibition at the Gorey Arts Centre.  A pupil of Paul’s, who recognised his talent at an early stage, his work now works hangs in museums and galleries and in many private collections around the world.  Other artists who exhibited there include painters Brian Bourke, Tony O’Malley, Charlie Harpur Michael Cullen, Robert Armstrong, Eamonn Carter and Shem Caulfield.  The last three, who were also closely associated with the Centre from the beginning, were part of what were known as the Gorey Group and exhibited frequently during the festival with Paul.

Although Irish artists were primarily shown, there were on occasion, exhibitions from abroad and for example in 1975, an exhibition of contemporary Russian paintings and graphics, arranged with the Soviet Ministry of Culture, was part of the Arts Centre’s programme.  As well as painting, other exhibitions were organised and included an exhibition of iconic American posters.  This exhibition, ‘Contemporary American Posters’, included posters designed by De Kooning, Marc Rothko, Roy Lichenstien and Robert Rauchensberg among others.  It was facilitated courtesy of the American Embassy.  In 1977, the artist Nigel Rolfe, exhibited in Gorey and this exhibition was not without controversy.  His solo exhibition featured five freestanding sculptural assemblages, the wooden blocks arranged carefully on top of each other.  Rolfe described it as a “collection of balancing structures” and was an exploration of gravity, structure and material.  The Centre, where the exhibition was held, was broken into overnight and the exhibition vandalised.  A note was left saying “Take this rubbish out of Gorey. -we don’t want it”. The story was reported in local and national newspapers, but the damage was not as serious as had been suggested and Rolfe could reassemble the work the next day8. Such exhibitions were relatively unusual in Ireland at the time and even more so in what was then a small rural town.

The internationally renowned sculptor, Michael Warren, who was involved with the Centre and festival from its earliest beginnings recalled a sculpture workshop or as Warren himself said  “what might more correctly be termed as a Round Table” which was held at his studio ‘Letatlin’ outside Gorey in 1981, during the festival.  Although Warren provided the venue, he is quick to acknowledge that Paul was the driving force behind the organisation of the event.  Many of those who attended are now sculptors of international importance and aside from Michael Warren, included Bob Sloan, Tom FitzGerald, Eileen McDonagh, Dick Joynt, Fred Conlon, Vivian Roche, Cathy Carmen, Eilís O’Connell, and Michael Bulfin among others.

At the time, they were all young graduates or post-graduates and were just beginning their careers.  The three day event brought distinguished figures from the world of sculpture to teach and talk at the workshop.  The invited Artist Speakers were the late George Rickey, regarded as one of the most important 20th century sculptors, Reg Butler, internationally renowned figurative sculptor (who died two months later) and Ward Jackson, curator of the Guggenheim Museum, New York.  Also in attendance was Professor William Katavolous, a theoretical sculptor and architect attached to the Architecture School at Pratt Institute.  He was also a co-director of the Center for Experimental Structures.

The workshop took the form of open discussion and debate on creativity, on sculpture in general and on the state of sculpture in Ireland in particular.  There was also the opportunity to for participants to develop and present to the group current project work in drawn or maquette form, as well as to engage in one-to-one tutorials with the invited artists.  Warren, who at the time was not long back from Milan, where he studied, recalled how privileged they all felt at having the opportunity to engage with these very distinguished figures from the art world at such an early stage in their own careers. Along with painting, Funge encouraged sculptors to exhibit at the Arts Centre and Warren exhibited there at an early stage in his career, as did Edward Delaney and John Behan among others.

The legacy of the Gorey Arts Centre and festival has been enormous and as Paul once remarked to his friend and fellow artist. Eamonn Carter “the thing was bigger than any of us”9 It did, it seems, take on a life of its own and the more successful it became, the more it developed in its standing as something extremely important in the annual calendar of arts events in Ireland.  Indeed it could be said that it became the most important event in that calendar.  Despite the very many distinguished names who came to Gorey over the years.  Paul and those associated with the Centre and festival never lost sight of its ethos of encouraging and fostering new talent in all the creative arts, providing them with both a showcase for their work, and opportunity to engage with established figures.  This, I believe was an important aspect of what happened at Gorey.  Many writers, musicians, actors, sculptors and painters can trace the impact of the Gorey Arts Centre and festival had on their development and creativity.  Eamonn Carter said that it was directly due to his involvement with the Gorey Arts Centre and festival, that he made the decision to study art.  He later went on to found The Gorey Arts School, which continues to grow and expand under the directorship of his son, Paul.

Arts in the community, Art Centers and festivals are now an established concept in Ireland and many towns have an Art Centre which has become an important aspect of the community.  It is perhaps surprising then to know that Gorey does not have such a centre, especially so in a town which has an art school.  This may be about to change.  Plans are at an advanced stage to open a new dedicated contemporary arts facility.  It is intended that it be run as a dynamic space, catering for a variety of exhibitions, festivals, workshops, seminars, talks and artist’s presentations and will provide the opportunity and the space for engagement and exchange of ideas.  This was something which was also fundamental to the success of the Gorey Arts Centre and Festival.  To be known as Periphery Space, it has echoes of Paul’s concept of providing a physical space where creative engagement could take place and perhaps this, a permanent space dedicated to this purpose is the best legacy which could be attributed to Paul and the Gorey Arts Centre.

Acknowledgements

I owe a sincere debt of gratitude to a number of people, who assisted me in the course of this research.

I would like to express my grateful thanks to Eamonn Carter, founder and former director of the Gorey School of Art.  Eamonn helped me while going through Paul’s papers and, as someone who was involved with the centre and festival from its inception, was an invaluable source of information.

I would like to thank the sculptor Michael Warren, who was also involved with the Arts Centre and festival from its early beginnings.  He too shared his own recollections with me and alerted me to the sculpture workshop which took place at his studio outside Gorey in the later years of the Centre’s establishment.  This was an important event and was something that I had not come across while looking through the available papers.  Michael also kindly provided the photograph taken at that workshop, assisted with the identification of those in it and gave permission for its use in this article.

I would like to thank Paul’s dear friend Floortje Nijssen who generously sent material from Belgium and took the time to translate and share her personal notes with me.

Finally and most especially, I would like to thank Joe and Kieran Funge, Paul’s brother and nephew and the Funge family who gave me access to all the available papers.  Kieran and Joe also took the time out of their own busy schedule to go through some of the material with me.  Without their assistance, this paper would not have been possible.

Kate Walsh
August 2012

Biography
Kate Walsh studied History of Art and Architecture at Trinity College, Dublin. She subsequently obtained an M. Phil in Irish Art History, while attached to TRIARC (Trinity Art Research Centre), where she specialised in Medieval Irish Art. She has a broad range of research interests and aside from the medieval period has engaged with research on visual material related to the Battle of the Boyne and on Irish carved stone as well as medieval metalwork.  She has taught  Irish Art and Archaeology at TCD, as part of the Introduction to Irish Culture programme, teaching students who attend to study at Trinity from abroad.  She has also taught History of European Painting and Irish Art History at Rathmines College of Further Education (DIT) as well as giving occassional lectures in Modern and Contemporary Irish Painting. She is currently engaged in research on the life and work of Paul Funge.