Art exhibition for Cashel and Golden by Hugo O'Donnell

A local artist is to brighten our mood this winter with an exhibition of scenes from Tipperary's wilder landscapes featuring the beloved Irish Water Spaniel.

Hugo O'Donnell's exhibition, called 'My Journey with an Irish Water Spaniel' will appear in shops in Cashel and Golden from from Monday November 19 until December 10.

Hugo says he was inspired to create the collection about three and half years ago when he started looking for a companion on his photographic outings into the wilds of Tipperary's uplands.

After some research and no knowledge of the dog breed he came across the Irish Water Spaniel. This ancient Irish breed sometimes called the bog dog is well able for the bogs, rivers, and mountains of County Tipperary in all conditions, says Hugo.

“My boy Lupin who is three and half years old is a good companion, and constantly gets in the way of my lens. He has therefore become part of my photographs in black and white and colour as he is always interested in what I am looking at with the camera.

“Many people have commented on my images on Facebook, and earlier this year the Post Mistress in the post office in Golden expressed an interest in having a photograph I showed her on my phone on the wall in the post office. She called it, 'The Dancing Dog'.

“I thought about this for around six months, and then came up with the idea of an exhibition of my photographs of the landscapes in Tipperary in a public space in Golden and Cashel. I'm surprised that such an ancient Irish breed has now become a rare breed. So I am highlighting this amazing breed in some of my images. I thought the best way for people to see an Irish Water Spaniel is in his natural environment, and also the stunning beauty of our county in the summer, and in the winter, in the sunshine, the snow and the floods. Also the best way to exhibit the images would be in public places.

“The images portray the Heritage walk to Athassel Abbey Golden, Glengarra Woods, the Foothills of The Galtee Mountains, the Galtee Mountains, Clare Glens, and the countryside between Golden and Bansha.

With this in mind I have approached shops in Golden and Cashel with the idea of showing in their shop windows and on the shop walls my photographs as shown on my laptop. The reaction to the photographs has been enthusiastic and overwhelmingly positive. This has resulted in some of the shops selecting some of the images they would like to see in their shops. I thought that since November into December is a dark cold time of the year having visual images on show would be uplifting to showcase our stunning beautiful countryside In total there are sixty images which I hope you will enjoy.”

All the framed photographs are for sale.