Meg O'Connell: 'Granddad left a legacy of standing against racial inequalities and supporting the arts'

Meg O’Connell, programme coordinator for West Cork Music, tells Helen O’Callaghan about standing in front of a painting at a London exhibition and realising it was dedicated to her late grandfather, Jack O’Connell

Meg O’Connell, programme coordinator of West Cork Music at Bantry House. Pictures: Noel Sweeney.

A particularly impactful day was two years after my grandfather Jack O’Connell’s death — May 2019. The artist Frank Bowling’s first major retrospective had opened at the Tate Britain.

The opening night itself was busy and chaotic. There was a great buzz and I was really looking forward to meeting my step-granny, Barbara, the next day and having a slower wander through the gallery.