My talk to the students at Grennan Mill was laced with images of Irish Country Furniture and included some of the work of James O'Keefe (1850-1923) of Bridgetown, Co. Wexford.

I told them that, some time around 1977/8, I came across an item of oak, carved furniture in Co. Wexford.

In those days I would set-out most Sunday mornings and visit settled travellers, if not in Rathkeale in Co. Limerick, in my own area and mostly in Co. Wexford.

As alluded to in a previous post (A happy coincidence.... 25.11.09) I knew many travellers in our region and, on such trips, I would likely start by calling to the Berry's on the south side of New Ross, then on up to the Goggins' on the north side of the town before heading out to Nellie Cash and Henry Connors at Pallas between New Ross and Clonroche. On to Clonroche itself, then to Adamstown and maybe Foulks Mill and Taghmon, in all of which villages I knew travellers who dealt in old furniture.

There was, for me, enormous pleasure to be had from these outings.
I liked the people and there was always the chance of making a 'real find'.

And that piece of oak, carved furniture was one such.

The carving was eye-catching and wonderful but the construction of the furniture parts, in which the four carved panels were housed, was so shoddy and poor that I had no doubt but they were made by a different hand so I did not hesitate from removing the panels, destroying the furniture elements.......

....and putting them into this simple, oak frame.

I cannot now remember how or why, but I came to understand or believe that the carved panels were the work of somebody called Cassisdy. (Once again, when I go back into old files and note books - as is my plan - I hope I will find a note or record that will remind me).

Shortly thereafter, in 1979 I think, The Irish Country Furniture Society (which had recently been formed and of which I was a founding member) was invited to mount an exhibition of Irish Country Furniture for Kilkenny Arts Week. - (Yes, my mantra of 'this is another story for another day' applies here and I'm sure that both the ICFS and the Kilkenny Arts Week Exhibition will get outings before too long).

The Arts Week Exhibition Catalogue designed by Peggy McConnell then of Kilkenny Design Workshops.

I curated the exhibition with Peggy and Alex Meldrum (the Course Director of the Grennan Mill Craft School who invited me to speak to her students last week).

Kilkenny Arts Week Exhibition 1979

But back to James O'Keeffe.

We exhibited the panels in the Arts Week Exhibition and, in my introductory remarks when the exhibition had moved on to the Wexford Arts Centre, I said that it was my understanding that they were the work of Cassidy.
A voice from the floor informed me that they were the work of James O'Keeffe.
The voice, again if my memory serves me, was that of Nicky Furlong, an established Wexford, local historian.

I forget the detail and the sequencing, but in due course, Sue and I visited the O'Keefe home and a descendent of Jameses, kindly allowed me to photograph many items of his work still in the positions for which he had made them.

These are some of them.

My first discovery was that I had been entirely wrong to destroy the furnture parts of my first find because, as you can see, furniture making was clearly not O'Keeffe's priority!

And, indeed, the very furniture items were, in the main, derivative, uninteresting and repetative.

But his carving, almost entirely in oak, was masterful and what he depicted in many a tableau was often cheerful, light-hearted and humourous - and he plainly loved women!

Some of his imagery was biblical.....

I could show you more, much more, of his work but I won't now: (that will be for 'another day' and, perhaps, in a different format).

But I will reveal that he was a man of many skills: albeit some better resolved than others.

He cast in plaster..

....this is a door from a wardrobe in a bedroom.....

These are the capitals of the fireplace in the sitting room - his parents maybe? - cast concrete maybe?...

He was not so successful at tile-making - this in a pilaster of the fireplace.

He did inlays...

....and even primitive paintings.

But my favourite item, of all his works that I have seen, is this small carved table.
Personally, I have never had the urge to carve, this being consistent with my suspicion of decoration in furniture - yes, 'yet another........' - but, if I was to carve, I would want to have carved this!

It makes me smile every time I look at the pictures of it.

I just love it!

There is a substantial reference to O'Keeffe, his life, interests and work in Claudia Kinmouth's Irish Country Furniture 1790-1950 but I don't think anybody has done the definitive research.
I learmed from Kinmouth's book that the little, carved table that I so love and the item with panels of biblical images that I photographed at the O'Keeffe home, are now in the National Museum.

Kinmouth also refers to his involvement with the Gaelic League.
I have no reason to doubt this but it is noticeable that the celtic imagery that was so favoured at that time, is rarely, if ever, to be seen in O'Keeffe's work.

But he was clearly a 'man of his time' as his work is entirely consistent with that of the British 'Arts and Crafts' movement and I have no doubt that Mr. Ruskin and Mr. Morris would have approved had they seen his work - and perhaps they did! And, indeed, perhaps Mr. O'Keeffe knew of and was influenced by them as we know that he exhibited his work nationally and perhaps internationally.

A builder by trade, he built a theatre in his home village capable of seating over 1000 people.

Clearly a man of culture, humour and many, many parts that deserve to be pulled together in a serious work. - Maybe I will try to do this one day. - But, then again, I have resolved to do many things that remain undone!