Liam’s children Fionnula, Eimear and Niall stand proud with their father’s work
The late Derrygonnelly artist Liam Elliott was remembered at the weekend with a special exhibition in Doogie’s Bar as part of the Eddie Duffy festival.
Liam died in July at the age of 76, but enjoyed painting for well over 50 years.
On Saturday some of his work was on show in Derrygonnelly as part of the festival, but such was the response organisers put the exhibition on for an extra day.
Liam’s daughter Eimear Harbinson explained further. “It went fantastically well, far better than we could ever have predicted, we’re so overwhelmed. It went so well on the Saturday we had it again on the Sunday. Hundreds came to see it and some people said it was the highlight of the weekend.”
The exhibition showcased Liam’s work over the past 50 years, with the earliest painting dating back to 1966. Eimear believes there must be thousands of Liam’s paintings in Fermanagh and beyond, with the self-taught artist’s portraits and landscapes proving very popular.
“He’s not your stereotypical portrait painter using beautiful subjects, he painted a lot of older characters, people from around the pub and was heavily influenced by musicians and Gaelic footballers.”
Indeed some of the artists performing at the weekend could be found adorning the walls of Doogie’s.
Eimear and her three siblings who were home for the weekend are grateful to the “unbelievable” community support, with many people arriving at the exhibition with their own works from Liam.
“People came to us with their pictures and told us where the piece had come from and the whole story of how they got it and how much they appreciated it. They had great memories of daddy and it was wonderful to hear them.”
At present on Facebook there is an appeal for anyone with further pictures painted by Liam Elliott to come forward. Liam’s family hope to catalogue some of the thousands of the pictures he painted through his life to create a memorial to his talent.
In time the family hope to produce a book detailing all of Liam’s work. The Facebook page can be accessed at; www.facebook.com/liamjelliottartist. Alternatively you can email a photo to e.harbinson270@btinternet.com or phone 02968641790/02868641834.