A Celebration of Island Heritage through Art

Exhibition “Echoes of the Isles: A Celebration of Island Heritage through Art” runs in
 ATU Galway library (18 to 22 August) for Heritage Week

A compelling new exhibition, Echoes of the Isles, will run in Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Galway city library from 18 to 22 August, 2025, as part of National Heritage Week. Funded through the Heritage Stewardship Fund by The Heritage Council, this collaborative project highlights the cultural and ecological heritage of Ireland’s Atlantic islands through contemporary visual art and digital heritage.

The exhibition features new work by artists Róisín Doherty and John Flynn, both of whom draw inspiration from the interwoven themes of landscape, folklore, archaeology, and memory. Their work brings attention to both the tangible and intangible aspects of island life—exploring how tradition, nature, and community interact in these unique environments.

Róisín Doherty, originally from Cruit Island, Donegal, is a Galway-based artist whose multidisciplinary approach combines drawing, painting, sound, photography, and found objects. A recent graduate of the MA in Creative Practice at ATU Galway, she has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at COP26 in Glasgow. Her contribution to this project reflects on the fragile machair habitats and the erosion of traditional island life, offering a poetic and immersive engagement with Ireland’s coastal ecology and cultural heritage.

John Flynn, a visual artist from Cork, creates work that blends mythology, archaeology, and the natural world. Influenced by Ireland’s deep tradition of storytelling, Flynn offers new visual interpretations of ancient narratives, using his practice to bridge past and present in fresh and accessible ways.

The project is overseen by ATU’s Gary Dempsey, a digital heritage expert at the School of Design & Creative Arts and a member of ATU’s Heritage Research Group. Inspired by the work of 19th-century antiquarian artists, whose field drawings accompanied archaeological exploration, Dempsey sees art as a powerful means of communicating heritage to the wider public.
“Echoes of the Isles is about reconnecting people with place,” says Dempsey. “It honours the knowledge embedded in island landscapes and shows how artistic practices can make that knowledge visible and shareable.”

This exhibition offers a unique window into Ireland’s island heritage, raising awareness of its ongoing transformation and the value of safeguarding its stories, species, buildings and traditions. It invites visitors to consider the importance of heritage not just as history, but as something alive and continually shaped by community, environment, and creativity.

The exhibition takes place in the ATU Galway (Dublin Road) campus library. All are welcome, and admission is free.

For more information visit: here ...  and/or contact Gary Dempsey, School of Design & Creative Arts, ATU Galway [email protected]

For information about the ATU design and creative arts programmes, please visit here ...