A rare example of unique, Galwegian craftsmanship has emerged in America, and its owner is attempting to unravel the mystery of its past.
Diana Hall is a resident of Franklin, Tennesse. She always admired a possibly 50-year-old sculpture of a man driving a plough horse in the home of family friends, Joe and Lil Chisholm, who had lived all over the world, often commissioning local craftspeople to create keepsakes of their time overseas.
When Lil passed away in Florida a few years ago, she willed the large, hammered bronze piece, sitting on bog wood almost two metres long, to Diana, with very little information about where it came from, why it was commissioned, who made this large, handcrafted work, and how much it should be insured for. The wood appears to have ancient plough gouges on it.
“They loved collecting beautiful pieces from their travels, as they travelled often. They were very dear family friends who I knew since I was a small child. I had always admired this piece, and after they both passed away, Lil passed it on to me,” says Hall, who drove a large jeep to the Sunshine State from Tennesse to collect the massive log, as it was too expensive to ship.
Once Hall got the heavy, almost two metre-long sculpture home, however, she realised that she knew very little about it, and was unable to answer questions friends and family posed on its provenance.
“My best guess at description would be: hand-forged and hammered metal with a rich, bronze patina finish. It was definitely crafted by hand. I only wish now I had taken the time to learn more about it, and the artist, when [the Chisholms] were around,” says Hall. Joe Chisholm had Irish ancestry, and it is understood the couple lived in Ireland briefly, possibly in the 1970s.
Only one clue was apparent of the sculpture’s background: a small, bronze plate with a name unusual to an American ear, hammered into it by the point of a burin tool, used by smiths to leave their mark. That name, was ‘Seán De Paor’.
“The family friends who gave this to me after both had passed, shared that while they were living in Ireland, they commissioned the piece from a local artist named Seán,” added Hall.
With just that nugget of information, Hall began researching Irish sculptors and tin smiths online, and reached out to Irish universities and art galleries for help.
With a stroke of luck, one of her enquiries reached the indefatigable Tom Kenny, of Kennys Bookshop & Gallery in Liosbán, who writes the Galway Advertiser’s ‘Old Galway’ local history page.
With an encyclopedic knowledge of Galway artists, Kenny remembered a small, roadside smithy in Furbo, Co Galway, where two brothers ran a metal workshop from the 1970s to 1980s, working mostly with copper. They had a road-side studio, and at least one public sculpture advertising sales. Their surname, was De Paor.
Kenny told Hall that he was unsure if the De Paors took commissions, and that his gallery had once spoken to one brother – possibly Seán – about showcasing his work, but he seemed content relying on passing trade to Conamara.
Pub inspiration
Contacted by the Advertiser, former Galway City Council arts officer, James Harrold, also remembers the De Paors’ workshop, sited opposite where the Údarás na Gaeltachta headquarters are now.
He thinks the metal workers may originally have came from outside Galway, and were perhaps in receipt of a special grant to set-up indigenous craft industries – possibly for people with disabilities, or maybe for enterprise in the Gaeltacht.
Harrold recalled that one De Paor brother may have retired to somewhere near Kilcolgan, Co Galway, but there the trail runs cold.
“After talking with you, I was sitting in Hughes’ pub, in Woodquay, one evening, after Cúirt, when I realised the big bronze relief they have there on the wall, of the old Clifden railway viaduct over the Corrib, was also probably by De Paors. Hughes said it was made especially for them, for the pub, so these brothers must have done commissions at some stage,” recalls Harrold.
“The history of the artist is important to me, so I can share more about where this piece came from,” explains Hall, who says the agricultural sculpture is of immense sentimental value to her. “I would love to learn more about him, and what other pieces he [made]. There may come a time I choose to part with it, but for now, it’s for informational and appraisal purposes.”
Will she come to Galway to pursue her Indiana Jones-style quest?
“I’m mostly fascinated to learn more about this Seán De Paor. Perhaps I can share his history, and that of your fine town, over here as well… I hope to get back to Ireland in the next year or two, and your city will definitely be on my list to visit!”
Any readers who may have information on the piece pictured, or of the De Paors of Furbo and latterly Kilcolgan, can contact the Galway Advertiser for Diana Hall’s details in Tennesse.
