A Story about the History of Dún Laoghaire: The Private Collection of Eileen Champion Poole
an • Opening reception Thursday 23 May, 6:30 – 8:30pm

The Eileen Champion Poole Trust is delighted to present ‘A Story about the History of Dún Laoghaire: The Private Collection of Eileen Champion Poole’ in association with visual artist Sabina Mac Mahon.

Following an open call made by dlr Arts in 2012 Mac Mahon was selected as the recipient of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s inaugural Concourse Award, an exhibition award designed to provide the general public with an opportunity to engage with contemporary visual arts practice in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown while also supporting the work of a local artist.

The resulting exhibition, ‘A Story about the History of Dún Laoghaire’ tells the story of the greater Dún Laoghaire area through the work of Eileen Champion Poole, a pioneering but sadly now largely forgotten antiquarian, amateur archaeologist, etymologist, ethnographer, local historian, novelist, watercolourist and photographer. She grew up in Kilbogget House in Cabinteely and opened her first museum at the age of ten. By the age of 12 she was employing a part-time assistant and had amassed a collection of over 700 items relating to the history of the greater Dún Laoghaire area.

‘A Story about the History of Dún Laoghaire’ is the first exhibition of artefacts from Eileen Champion Poole’s personal collection since her death in 1974. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to engage with her expansive legacy and re-examine her contribution to our understanding of the history of Dún Laoghaire through a range of personal and historical artefacts, some of which have not been shown in public since the museum on the grounds of Kilbogget House closed in the mid-1930s.

From the remains of a Vegetable Lamb believed to have grazed in the rock-strewn pastures of Glenageary to an ancient piece of brack and a team of archaeological seagulls trained to investigate a submerged village in Killiney Bay, the exhibition provides a fascinating insight into the life and times of Eileen Champion Poole and the place that she called home.

FREE SPECIAL EVENTS!! ALL WELCOME!

Guided tours of the exhibition, 1pm, Fridays 24 May, 31 May, 7 June.

Historical walking tour of Dún Laoghaire with local historian Rob Goodbody, 1pm, Wednesday 5 June

Artist talk with Sabina Mac Mahon, 7pm, Thursday 6 June.

Please note that the exhibition will be *CLOSED* on Bank Holiday Monday, 3 June 2013

For images and more information please visit www.eileen-champion-poole.info

This exhibition is kindly supported by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and Moynihan Russel Sound Recording Studios.

Sabina Mac Mahon (b. Dublin, 1985) graduated from the National College of Art & Design with a joint honours degree in History of Art and Fine Art (Painting) in 2008. Solo exhibitions include Longevity, if not immortality, Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford (2012) and Droichead Arts Centre, Louth (2011), Soft murder; appropriate to a sad, frightened time, Ballina Arts Centre, Mayo (2011) and The Transport of the Holy House of Loreto, The Joinery, Dublin (2010) . Her work has featured in numerous group shows in Ireland and abroad and she has taken part in residency programmes at Cow House Studios, Wexford (2011) and The Guesthouse, Cork (2012).