Cogadh na gCarad, a solo exhibtion by Eoin Mac Lochlainn

Cogadh na gCarad / the War between Friends, a solo exhibition by Eoin Mac Lochlainn, 7 March - 2 April 2023

7 March - 2 April 2023

Solo show

Artist: Eoin Mac Lochlainn

Official Opening at 6:30pm on Tuesday 7 March  2023.
Guest speaker: Diarmaid Ferriter, historian, author and university professor. Guests will then be invited to view a video projection of the work in the nearby Garden of Remembrance at 7:30pm

Dates for the video projection at the Garden of Remembrance: 
Tuesday 7th, 14th & 21st March, from 7pm to 8pm.

Please note that the OCG will remain open until 8:30 pm on Tuesday 14th and 21st of March so that viewers can also check out the exhibition here at the gallery before or after the screening in the Garden of Remembrance.

The exhibition is also available in our 3D virtual space.

Price for each painting: 850 Euro unframed (1000 Euro framed)

The video, a edition of 3 copies (+ 1  A/P) only (18 minutes), is also available for purchase (POA). It comes with an audio version featuring sean-nós singing by Fearghas Mac Lochlainn and keening by Sarah Ghriallais. A copy of the video was acquired by the OPW for the Irish State's Art Collection.

Video projection of Cogadh na gCarad at the Garden of Remembrance Dublin, 7pm to 8pm on 7th, 14th and 21st of March 2023. Video created by the artist in collaboration with filmmaker Don Rorke. Photo by the artist.

The Olivier Cornet Gallery is delighted to present Eoin Mac Lochlainn's fifth solo exhibition with us. 

'Cogadh na gCarad / the War between Friends' is a project that explores the trauma of the Irish Civil War. Over the last year Eoin Mac Lochlainn has been making charcoal drawings and developing a video projection for the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin to coincide with his solo exhibition at the Olivier Cornet Gallery.

"When reading about the Civil War I was struck by historian Diarmaid Ferriter’s assessment of it as “a small-scale affair” with only about 1400 people killed. Small perhaps (when compared to 36,000 deaths in the Finnish Civil War around the same time) but for me, 1,400 dead meant that 1,400 families were bereaved and many, many more were traumatised. I decided that I would make 1,400 drawings to commemorate the dead, (to commemorate - from the Latin commemorare: to bring to remembrance - and com: altogether) -ie- to bring people together to remember and, in some way, to acknowledge the trauma.  

The drawings are not portraits – and not based on actual people who were killed during the conflict. Each piece is an attempt to represent a soul, someone with dreams and ambitions, someone whose life was cut short. The series does not pass judgement or take sides. Who knows today what stance we would have taken - or how we would have acted in the same situation - but I think that it is important to remember the Irish Civil War and to mark it - to remind ourselves that peace should never be taken for granted.  

The work continues to put other global conflicts in perspective for me. War is a failure of empathy, a failure of Humanity. Whatever the cause, when it comes down to it, it’s always some mother’s son, it is somebody’s sister or brother, somebody’s neighbour who is killed.

I'm grateful to the Arts Council and the OPW for supporting this project."
Eoin Mac Lochlainn


Coverage/Reviews:

  • Your guide to the best exhibitions currently taking place around the country, Philip Carton, Events Calendar, The Business Post, 25 February & 24 March 2023
  • The War between Friends, Dr Brenda Moore-McCann, Visual Artists’ News Sheet, May-June 2023 edition (Exhibition Profile, page 31)

  • The Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA) acquired 4 of the artist's drawings. Read our November 2023 announcement.


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