42 / 260
29
James Mahony ARHA (c.1815-c.1859)
THE CONSECRATION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF ST. MARY’S, POPE’S QUAY, CORK, c.1842
oil on canvas
37_ x 43in. (95_ x 109.22cm)
Provenance: Presented to Kearns Deane, architect of St. Mary’s Dominican Church, Cork from the artist;Thence by family
descent to the present owner
Exhibited: RHA, Dublin, 1842, no. 232 as The Consecration of the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary’s, Pope’s Quay, Cork
built from designs, and by Kearns Deane, Esq., Architect
Presented in its original frame.
Best-known for his sparse, yet harrowing illustrations of the Great Famine in Ireland for The Illustrated London News
(ILN), James Mahony was also a very versatile artist, who produced a varied body of work: genre and literary scenes,
interiors of churches, seascapes, and watercolours of the Great Exhibition in Dublin in 1853; and he was a keen traveller.
He worked in oil, watercolour and with illustrations, the latter of which were admired by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh.
Mahony was born in Cork c.1811 or c.1817 (1), the son of William Mahony, a carpenter, and brother of Patrick Mahony,
who later became an architect. Mahony first exhibited in Cork in 1883, at the Cork Society for Promoting the Fine Arts.
He spent several years travelling on the Continent, visiting Normandy and Italy, studying in Rome, and gaining skills as
a watercolourist. He returned to Cork in around 1841, living at 34, Nile Street. Along with fellow artist, Samuel Skillen, he
helped to establish the Cork Art Union. He exhibited paintings of Italian views, architectural subjects and scenes from
Shakespeare at this venue, 1842-1845, and at the Royal Hibernian Academy, (RHA), 1842-1846. In 1846 an engraving by
him was presented to Queen Victoria, and he made illustrations of the funeral of Daniel O’Connell in 1847.
Mahony was employed by the ILN as an artist and reporter for many years. Between 1846-1852 he made graphic
illustrations of scenes of poverty and hunger in counties Cork and Clare, as well as scenes of emigration. His harrowing
illustrations of suffering helped to alert members of the public and politicians to the severity of the famine. At the
same time Mahony was painting happier scenes in Cork and its environs, for example Old Stone Bridge at Blarney, 1850
(Crawford Art Gallery, Cork), and Queen’s College, Cork, and he continued to exhibit his Irish and Continental scenes.
Amongst his most notable paintings of this period are his large watercolours recording the visit of Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert to the Great Exhibition in Dublin in 1853 (National Gallery of Ireland), and his superb panoramic scene of
Dublin taken from the spire of St. George’s, Hardwick Place, 1854 (NGI). Many of Mahony’s watercolours were collected
by Captain G.A. Taylor; and were bequeathed to the National Gallery in 1855.
In 1856 the artist was elected an Associate of the RHA. He travelled to Spain, painting watercolours of the great Moorish
cities of Seville, Cordoba and Granada. In c.1859 he resigned from the RHA and returned to Cork, where he died.
Several important oil paintings by Mahony have appeared on the art market in recent years. These include: Blessing of
the Fishing Fleet (2), and two magnificent church interiors: The Church of St Roch, Paris (3) and the present picture.
The Dominican Order had been founded by St. Dominic in France in 1216, and some of the brethren arrived in Cork
in c.1229 (4). They settled on an island on the River Lee, (near the present St. Finbarre’s Cathedral), their church and
priory becoming known as ‘St. Maries of the Isle’. Following the confiscation of their property by the Crown, they moved
in 1697, soon settling near Shandon; St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, (the North Chapel); St. Patrick’s Church and the Trinity
Presbyterian Church.
IRISH & INTERNATIONAL ART · 28 SEPTEMBER 2015