Limerick’s Hunt Museum to host contemporary art programme

ART FROM around the country will be hosted in Limerick's Hunt Museum for their new innovative programme to connect the public with visual arts.

The programme is hosted by the museum in the heart of the city, which houses a renowned collection of antiquities, art, and artefacts assembled by Limerick natives and passionate antiquarians, John and Gertrude Hunt. 

The Hunt Museum launched its programme with a solo exhibition by acclaimed Irish artist Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh on Thursday, March 6. 

The Wicklow-based Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh holds a MA in Fine Art from Limerick School of Art and Design followed by a BA in Fine Art from Dublin Institute of Technology.

The exhibition will run from until April 3 in the Hunt Museum, with free admission.

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Titled Bailiúchán (meaning “collection” in Irish), this exhibition celebrates Ní Mhaonaigh’s internationally recognised practice and her recent election as an Academician of the Royal Hibernian Academy.

Through this new programme, the Hunt Museum aims to champion contemporary Irish art, creating opportunities for Irish artists, fostering a deeper connection between the public and visual arts while encouraging engagement with modern painting practices.

The exhibition, Bailiúchán: Exploring Space, Structure, and Identity, assembles a selection of paintings from distinct bodies of work created over the past five years. 

The exhibition delves into themes of cartography and deep mapping, where landscapes are etched and reshaped over time. 

A fluent Irish speaker, Ní Mhaonaigh often titles her exhibitions with singular Irish words, each carrying layers of meaning tied to identity, environment, and lived experience, and underscoring her deep-rooted connection to the Irish landscape while evoking boundless, imagined spaces.

In addition to her artistic practice, Ní Mhaonaigh is an active voice in Irish-language broadcasting across radio and television.

In recognition of her contributions to the arts, she was elected an Academician of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 2023 and a member of Aosdána in 2024.

Teresa Crowley, CEO and director of the Hunt Museum, said: “The launch of our contemporary art programme marks an exciting new chapter for the Hunt Museum, and we are thrilled to open with Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh’s compelling exhibition, Bailiúchán. Her work not only showcases the strength of contemporary Irish painting but also invites audiences to engage with visual art in a meaningful way. This programme reflects our commitment to celebrating Ireland’s vibrant artistic talent”.