Exhibition launched to mark donation of James and Elizabeth McCreary Collection to DCU’s art collection
Yesterday at Dublin City University’s St Patrick’s Campus, staff and students joined with members of Dublin’s Northside artistic community to formally launch the James and Elizabeth McCreary Exhibition, marking the donation of 160 fine art prints assembled over five decades by Dublin artist and print maker James McCreary.
Featuring works by Louis le Brocquy, Jane O’Malley, A.R. Penck, Niall Naessens, James McCreary, Tony O’Malley, Maria Simonds-Gooding, Michael Cullen and others, the range of works donated reflect both the artistic breadth and technical excellence of Irish printmaking in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
The donated prints will be displayed across the DCU’s multiple campuses, in public-facing and working foyers, lobbies, and boardrooms — for students, staff, and the wider public to enjoy.
Speaking at the launch of the collection, DCU President Professor Dáire Keogh said:
This is an extraordinarily generous donation, and one that will greatly enrich our campuses. Thanks to James’s years of quietly collecting and making prints, we have been gifted a truly unique collection including the work of many leading Irish and international artists. I am delighted that we will now have the opportunity to displaying these inspiring artworks for the appreciation of students and staff alike.
Marcella Bannon, DCU Cultural Arts Officer, said:
This extraordinary donation is both a deeply personal and culturally significant gift to DCU. Collected over more than 50 years, the collection reflects the generosity, relationships, and shared practice of a local artist and master printer whose life has been rooted in Dublin's north side. It brings together an impressive catalogue of Irish artists, capturing a rich period of artistic exchange, collaboration, and experimentation in Ireland’s visual arts history. As a resource, this collection will be a lasting legacy for DCU students, staff and visitors, offering direct access to a network of artists who have shaped contemporary Irish art. We are enormously grateful for this gift, which will be enjoyed, studied, and cared for by generations to come.
Born in Dublin in 1944, James McCreary is a distinguished Irish printmaker whose career spans more than sixty years. James has lived and worked near Griffith Avenue for over fifty years, and is deeply rooted in the Northside artistic community. His work is held in major public collections including the National Gallery of Ireland, the Chester Beatty Library, the Crawford Art Gallery, Museum of Ulster, Belfast and the Museum of Modern Art, Cairo. He became a member of Aosdána in 2005.