There was a brace of good art exhibitions last Sunday and a lot of people spent a pleasant afternoon wandering between the two. Mary Tuohy and Brid Dukes of the Hallward gallery were holding the first major exhibition of sculptor John Behan's work in more than two years, to coincide with his own 60th anniversary. Novelist Deirdre Purcell; actor Catherine Byrne; poet Rory Brennan and his wife Fionnuala Brennan; Catherine and John Daly of Hillsboro Fine Art; artist Camille Souter; John Behan's children Deirdre and Finn, and Carey Clarke, president of the RHA, all packed into the Merrion Square gallery.
Arts Council member Eithne Healy did the honours and then, like Norma Smurfit, headed to the RHA Gallagher gallery for the opening of the AIB Art on Tour exhibition. More than 1,000 people flooded in to see the bank's fine modern art collection which will soon go on tour around the country. They included Garret FitzGerald, his son Mark and daughter Mary; Declan McGonigle, director of IMMA; art historian and AIB collection adviser, Frances Ruane; artist Maria Simmonds- Gooding who opened her own show in the Taylor Galleries yesterday, and AIB chief executive Tom Mulcahy, chairman Lochlann Quinn, and MD Kevin Kelly.