Art lover who built gallery in garden hoping to sell works
A man with a lifelong interest in photography and art is now looking sell his collection. Tommy Corcoran from Milltownpass built the Mo Phaisean Art Gallery in this back garden during the Covid-19 lockdowns, and he is keen to share the works on display there with other art lovers, and hopes that at least some of the visitors will buy some of them.
“I was involved with Mullingar Camera Club in the 1970s, but down the years, because of work commitments, I put it on the back burner,” Tommy told the Westmeath Examiner.
“But I was always collecting art. I’d visit art galleries, go to auctions, house auctions, anywhere I thought I’d find something interesting, and I started collecting art.
“It became kind of an obsession with me, and I had paintings everywhere in the house – in the wardrobes, under the beds, everywhere. Then, I wasn’t working very much with the lockdown, and I decided to put up an art gallery to display them all, and I also wanted to sell some of them.
“I also have collectibles for sale, some old items, in the gallery, but it’s mostly art.”
Tommy welcomes visitors to call in casually, though he says to “give me a shout in case I wouldn’t be in” – his details are on his website, at mophaiseanartgallery.com/.
On the website, Tommy says: ‘Jack B Yeats has influenced my love for art. Although I’m unable to acquire his paintings, I have lately managed to acquire a painting by his father, John Butler Yeats, and add it to my collection. In early 2020, and with the news of Covid hitting our shores, my passion for art was re-ignited, so, I decided to open an art gallery at my home, and Mo Phaisean was born.’
In the gallery Tommy has “original John Skeleton, Jill Whyte, a local artist, Frank Fells, I have Roy Wallace, all the big names... Kevin Sharkey”.
Asked to explain why the some of the paintings on his website are priced at one cent, Tommy said: “What I started at first was, rather than put people off with the prices – most of my paintings would be two and three hundred euro – I’d just get them to come out and look, and if they were interested, we’d see what happened.
“I don’t want to put people off. I don’t mind if they don’t buy anything, but it’s relaxing just to visit an art gallery.”
Contact Tommy by email at info@mophaiseanartgallery.com; the address is Mo Phaisean Art Gallery, Bog Road, Milltownpass, N91 XW35; or via the website.