A richly varied route to his own art exhibition for microbiologist and De Dannan musician Aidan Coffey

Painting became a 'nice diversion during the pandemic restrictions' for the MTU professor 

Aidan Coffey’s exhibition ‘Súil Siar’ will be opened by singer Máire Ní Chéileachair on September 8 at the Ionad Cultúrtha, Baile Mhúirne

Michael Coffey was 92 years old before he was presented with the picture of a shipwreck off the Waterford coast which he had asked his son Aidan to paint 35 years previously.

Aidan Coffey had, it is fair to say, been busy in the interim. Not only recording with the likes of Séamus Creagh and Arty McGlynn and touring the world as accordion player with De Dannan — as well as helping to heal a 14-year rift between former bandmates Alec Finn and Frankie Gavin — Professor Coffey was also pursuing his career as lecturer and researcher in microbiology at Munster Technological University.