John Coll’s donated sculpture to be sold by raffle in support of Galway Hospice

John Coll, one of Ireland’s most prominent figurative sculptors, has kindly donated one of his pieces titled ‘Connemara’, to be sold by raffle in support of Galway Hospice.  Valued at €3000, raffle tickets cost €10 each and are available for sale until Friday 29th July 2016. The raffle will take place at Galway Hospice on 29th July. Raffle tickets are available for purchase from Galway Hospice. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone by calling the Foundation on 091 770868.

‘Connemara’ was inspired by John’s visits to the West of Ireland. It depicts the landscape’s wild bushes metamorphosing into the head of a Connemara pony. The sculpture is made from welded bronze and is 19 inches long and 1 foot high. An image of the piece can be seen below.  The sculpture can also be viewed at Galway Hospice.

John has sculpted many works of national importance including monuments to the poet Patrick Kavanagh and the writer Brendan Behan on the Dublin canals. Other large-scale projects include a monument to Countess Markievicz in Rathcormac, Co Sligo and locally a life-size portrait of the racehorse “Bobby-Jo” in Mountbellew, Co Galway. John’s recent works include a 3.5 metre bronze and stainless steel sculpture entitled “Ceilliuradh” in NUI Galway and he is presently working on a 4.5 metre monument to the Galway footballer Enda Colleran for Moylough, Co Galway.

He has exhibited widely in Europe and held a one-man show in New York in 1998. His work is found in many collections including the Bank of Ireland collection, The National Museum Collins Barracks, The Irish Museum of Modern Art, The National Library of Ireland Collection and Stanford University, California, USA. John was recently selected to create a sculpture of President Michael D.Higgins.

The donation of a sculpture to Galway Hospice by such an outstanding artist, as a fundraising initiative, is very much appreciated.  Every year, Galway Hospice must raise €1.8 million to ensure the continued provision of essential Home Care, Day Care and Bereavement Support services throughout Galway city and county. Galway Hospice depends hugely on voluntary contributions to reach this annual target.  We are very grateful for this support.