Over the course of fifty years Patrick Earley assembled an
outstanding collection of Irish topographical art, focusing
on portrayals of Dublin and Wicklow over the period 1770
to 1870. The collection has recently been acquired by
the State and a selection will be exhibited in the historic
Daniel O’Connell room at the City Assembly House. The
exhibition will feature early nineteenth-century views of
Powerscourt Waterfall and Grafton Street, of Georgian
College Green and Victorian Bray. Among the artists
represented will be William Sadler, John Henry Campbell
and Patrick Vincent Duffy.

It is wonderful that a few months after this important donation a selection from the collection will be put on public display in an exhibition that will run over the summer months of 2025 at the City Assembly House, Dublin. This is a most appropriate venue, as the building was erected in the mid-1760s by the artists of Ireland as the first purpose-built, public exhibition space for the display of
art in Britain or Ireland. William Laffan author and art historian, who has written a catalogue to accompany the Exhibition
states that “ Here at the City Assembly House, artists such as Thomas Roberts and William Ashford competed for public
approval and the Irish – specifically Wicklow – landscape was very often their subject matter of choice. In 1772, for example, Roberts, William Ashford and James Coy (c. 1750-80) all exhibited views of Tinnehinch at the Society.”

William Laffan in his catalogue further elaborates on this special cause for celebration outlining how the Earley collection, the product of decades of shrewd and insightful collecting, has been acquired by the State under the provisions of section 1003 of the Taxes Consolidation Act (1997) which has not only brought entire individual masterpieces to the National Gallery of Ireland and the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork (among other institutions) but has allowed collections, such as that formed by Richard Wood, now
at Fota, County Cork, to be acquired for the enjoyment of the Irish public. The OPW has benefited too with the Carton paintings of the Mallaghan family coming to the State under the Section 1003 Act and the paintings handsomely displayed at Castletown. Similarly, the cultural heritage of Waterford has been immensely enhanced by the acquisition, under the same scheme, of superlative collections of Irish Georgian silver. The legislation specifically limits its applicability to outstanding examples of works of art which are manifestly ‘pre-eminent in their class’, whose acquisition would ‘significantly enhance’ Ireland’s cultural patrimony – a high bar indeed, and a validation of Patrick’s connoisseurship. For this collection to be donated to OPW a number of people were instrumental in facilitating this initiative. I would like in particular to acknowledge the assistance of Sir Robert Goff, John Kennedy of the Department of Culture, Communication and Sport, Joanne Bannon and Roisin Flynn of
OPW’s Registrar’s Office and Stuart Cole of Adam’s. My thanks also to the OPW’s Art Management Group who have providing guidance and governance on the donation throughout.

The arrival of the Patrick Earley Collection at OPW comes at a very suitable time. Both Emo Court, Laois and Damer House, Roscrea are both undergoing conservation works and new
picture hang displays are in planning. A selection of Earley paintings are already on display for Season 2025 in the newly
re-hung Drawing Room of Emo Court. The House has just reopened following conservation works and a visit there to
view both the Earley paintings and all the displays at Emo Court is strongly recommended. It is planned that some of the Earley collection will be on display at Damer House, Roscrea from the Autumn of 2026 onwards as part of the new schemes being unveiled under the grant aided EU Just Transition Funds Failte/
OPW project. The cataloguing of all the Earley Collection is being undertaken by Joanne Bannon, Historic Collections Registrar, OPW.

For the summer of 2025 the Irish Georgian Society at The City Assembly House a large selection of the Patrick Earley Collection can be viewed in Dublin by visitors prior to their display and as a preview to their presentation at Damer House, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. Our thanks to Donough Cahill, Director of the IGS and his team for presenting the collection for public enjoyment this
summer. Our very particular thanks to William Laffan for researching and writing up the excellent catalogue entries for
the paintings and for coming up with the proposal to display the collection to visitors this summer at the Irish Georgian Society’s home.