Two islands on the west coast, one in Mayo and one in Galway, are the subject of Sligo-born painter Conor Gallagher’s new exhibition at The Doorway Gallery in Dublin. Achill to Mweenish is a new series of paintings made after recent trips to Dugort on Achill and to Mweenish Island near Carna in Connemara. It runs from 1 to 15 October, and the opening night is Thursday 1 October.
Two islands, one journey
The places in the title are well chosen.
Dugort, in the north of Achill, has attracted artists for a long time. The Nobel Prize-winning German writer Heinrich Böll lived and worked in a cottage there through the 1960s and into the 1970s. Since 1992 that cottage has been a residence for visiting writers and artists. The painter Paul Henry also lived on Achill, for eight years. One of the largest works in Gallagher’s show, Minaun, Achill, depicts the island’s third-highest mountain, near the village of Dooega.
Mweenish, or Maínis, is in the Conamara Gaeltacht, close to Carna, and is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Only 127 people lived there at the 2022 census. Carna is known for its boatbuilding tradition and was a home of the Galway hooker.
The works listed in the gallery’s preview go well beyond the two islands in the title. They include Roundstone Bay, August in Rosmuc, Bog Cut, South Connemara, and two paintings titled Atlantic Bog from Carna. There are also Irish-language titles such as Capall Bán (white horse) and Trá Brígín, Mweenish. Most of the paintings are small and intimate, between 15 x 20cm and 31 x 37cm. The exception is Minaun, Achill, at 46 x 61cm.
About the artist
Gallagher grew up in Sligo and has worked as a graphic designer for more than 30 years. He came to painting relatively late: in 2008 he enrolled in an evening course at NCAD, and the support he received there set him on his way. He now lives beside the Royal Canal and works from a studio in the Chocolate Factory on Kings Inns Street, Dublin 1.
His way of working is unusual. He often starts a painting in a realistic style and then takes it apart, sometimes by scraping the paint back to the surface. His subjects are usually specific places: estuaries, rocky outcrops, sacred trees, cities and rivers. In 2024 he joined Graphic Studio Dublin, and printmaking has given his paintings a more graphic quality.
His exhibition history is varied. He has shown work in woodlands in Sligo, on a small island in Denmark, in a clubhouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and at the Salon Prado in Madrid. He was named Best Irish Artist at the 20th National Open Art Exhibition in London in 2016. He has exhibited in the annual shows of the Royal Academy, the RHA and the RUA. In July 2024 he shared the Hamilton Award at Cairde Visual with David Smith, for two paintings from his Sligo Mountain series. His work is held in collections including Adare Manor, the Office of Public Works, the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, NUI Galway, Mastercard UK and Digicel.
About the gallery
The Doorway Gallery was founded by Denise Donnelly and Deirdre Carroll. It shows Irish and international artists and has a strong solo-show programme. Donnelly set out to change the image of art galleries as elitist, and the gallery positions itself as welcoming and affordable.
Know before you go
Exhibition: 1–15 October 2026
Opening night: Thursday 1 October, 6pm–8pm (refreshments served)
Venue: The Doorway Gallery, 27 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2 (1st, 2nd and 3rd floors, above Murphy’s Ice Cream)
Opening hours: Monday–Friday 11am–5:30pm, Saturday 11am–6pm
Admission: Free
View the works online: thedoorwaygallery.com
