June 24, 2021

The Whitethorn Gallery, Clifden, Co. Galway

One of the best art galleries in the West of Ireland, The Whitethorn Gallery showcases work by some of the finest contemporary artists that Ireland has to offer.

Award-winning artist Anne Merrins opened The Whitethorn Gallery in Clifden, Galway in 2009. 

She has personally selected artwork from Ireland, the UK and Europe, spreading them over seven rooms, providing ample room for the casual browser, as well as those with an eye to buy.

Born in Dublin, Anne emigrated to Canada with her family as a teenager, while there she studied Art and Psychology at McGill University in Montreal. While the Canadian wilderness proved a great inspiration, it is the stark ‘Irishness’ of Connemara and it’s people that has always been at the heart of her work.

She returned home in 1990 to live in Connemara. In 2009, having raised her sons in Clifden, she realized a lifelong dream of opening The Whitethorn Gallery, and has devoted the last 12 years building it into the Mainstream Gallery that it is today.

Speaking of her gallery, Anne says, "a curator is only as good as the bank of talent she has to work with, and one doesn’t have to look beyond the borders of Ireland to find an endless supply of inspired painters and sculptors.

"Notwithstanding, the odd foray into Europe has tempted me over the years to add to our numbers with a few extraordinary, hand-picked, European and English artists.

"Of the artists that we represent, some have come to us over the years, others I have pursued. I have been known to beg – very occasionally, or at least to be very persistent, if I felt that someone would fit completely with us."

You can find more information about the Whitehorn Gallery on their website.