All eyes on 30,000 art contest entries

A great man once described art as “not what you see, but what you make others see”. In other words, art requires an audience to interpret it.

Therein lies the beauty of the annual Credit Union Art Competition, which brings thousands of viewers to aspiring artists from all over the country.

Now in its 31st year, the competition drew 30,000 entries this time around, from 300 credit unions nationwide.

The participants were recognised at an exhibition and awards ceremony in Croke Park yesterday, hosted by the Irish League of Credit Unions.

The under-seven prize went to Luke Collins from Drogheda, Co Louth, while Cork’s Clodagh McDonagh took home the top prize in the eight to 10-year-old category. The budding artist submitted a striking painting of a peacock through Macroom Credit Union.

Another inspired Cork artist, Aoife Brady from Togher, came first in the special 11 to 13-years-old section, while Sarah Leddy from Inniskeen, Co Louth won the general category for the same age group.

Class 3 of St Bridget’s Special School in Castlebar, Co Mayo won the group category for their spectacular collage of an underwater world using shells and wool.

Katie Drohan, New Ross, runner-up in the 11-13-years category,

holds her painting in front of host Marty Whelan.

The 14 to 17-year-old competition was won by fifth-year student Shania McDonagh from Claremorris, who has entered the competition for the past five years, either winning or receiving a merit each time.

The talented teen bagged the top prize this time for her depiction of an old man, while last year’s entry featured an old woman smiling from beneath an umbrella.

Alex Wright of Rathmore, Co Kerry was the winner in the 18 and over category.

Marty Whelan, who has hosted the finals of the competition for the past four years, said the artistic achievement this year was “quite something”.

“It is always great to see competitions like this support the arts and give people the opportunity to explore their creative side,” he said. “It is a pleasure to meet such an array of talented artists and give them the opportunity to showcase their creative ideas and gain national recognition for their ability.”

ILCU president Martin Sisk praised the interpretations of this year’s theme, ‘Artfest’.

“We wholeheartedly support the artistic development of people young and old in our communities across the island of Ireland. The artists here today should be extremely proud of themselves and the quality of the artwork displayed is truly outstanding,” he said.

The judges were John Walsh, creative director of Focus Advertising Agency; Ursula Retzlaff O’Connell, artist; and John Farrelly, cartoonist and graffiti artist.