The 200th anniversary of the “Nimmo” pier at Roundstone, Connemara, is being celebrated with an exhibition by artist Rosie McGurran.
“Finding [Alexander] Nimmo” is the title of her exhibition in Roundstone Lower Community Hall, which commemorates the completion of the harbour’s pier by the Scottish engineer in 1824.
The Belfast-born artist has been based in Roundstone since 2000, having spent time there in her teenage years and early twenties.
She has made a significant contribution to the community during the past two decades, having been involved in activities for the annual national culture night programme.
She also runs the Inishlacken project, where national and international artists have been invited to join her for residencies on the island which inspired fellow northern artists including James McIntyre, Gerard Dillon and George Campbell.
The embarkation for Inishlacken – a painting on the theme of Alexander Nimmo by artist Rosie McGurran, is currently on exhibition at Roundstone community hall, Co Galway
McGurran had a close relationship with cartographer and writer Tim Robinson and his wife Mairéad, who had lived for several decades in Roundstone and who died within several weeks of each other in London in early 2020.
McGurran has noted that both Tim Robinson and Alexander Nimmo were mathematicians whose “creative energies knew no bounds”.
For her exhibition, McGurran spent six months drawing the pier and then committing some of these drawings to canvas in her studio. She described her painting style as figurative and narrative as she seeks to “discover untold stories from the past and present, and the endless possibilities of the future”.
The Nimmo pier at Roundstone was one of a network of piers which the Scottish engineer was responsible for and which helped to transform economic fortunes on the Irish west coast. Built for the inshore fishing fleet, it is now largely used by leisure craft.
McGurran will be exhibiting in the Lavelle Gallery, Clifden, during the Clifden community arts festival in September, and has been offered a residency at the British School in Rome.
“Finding [Alexander] Nimmo” runs at the Roundstone Lower Community Hall until Sunday, August 18th, from 10am to 6pm daily.
