From 15th October in the new ‘Changing Ireland’ public gallery at the National Museum of Ireland
Under the Blossom Rain
“This photograph was taken on the back step of Castlepollard Mother and Baby Institution by Philomena Cahill for her daughter Maria – an act of defiance and love. In 1954, Philomena had escaped the Crusade of Rescue (a Catholic organisation) and remained in London, where Maria was born later that year. They lived in a British Red Cross ‘home’ on a secret government list but were later deported to Castlepollard in Westmeath. There, Philomena was renamed Cyril and forced into manual labour for two years. Strict routine limited contact with Maria. When Maria was taken for adoption, Philomena was detained a further 50 days. State agencies kept them apart until after Philomena’s death, but Maria received the photograph from Philomena’s family and uncovered the paper trail over her lifetime. Maria was my mum and Philomena my grandma. At Philomena’s grave, cherry blossom petals fell on our heads “I can feel her, Fiona!” My art, made with mum’s bandages and cherry blossom, reunites them in paper and love. ” Fiona Cahill, 2025
Faoin mBláthbháisteach
How my art is being preserved by the National Museum of Ireland
Paper specialist Ellen McKeever, talked me through her suggestions and methods “..if you are happy for me to do so I would recommend small amounts of wheat starch paste and Japanese paper to strengthen them up for display. This would not have a visual effect on the object” This will be applied to the areas within the green boxes, where testing has identified areas that are likely to deteriorate faster. This will not interfere with the intended organic ‘fragility’
“From a conservation point of view your paper piece is vulnerable due to its light sensitive colourants so we would maintain levels similar to those we use on artefacts like our Japanese prints and Eileen Gray carpet gouaches.”
The top left photo is of light testing; I was fascinated that my handmade ink (made with sloes) looks like it did when I first put it on. (I hoped it would go pink and it did)
This is a real moment for me, for my mum and my graandma, and as an artist something I’d dreamed about. Everything is an object in museum speak but to me the paper is alive with intent, belonging only to itself.
It is made with cherry blossoms and my mums bandages. It became a representation of mums fairy ring where she experienced visions and memory releases -she heard her mum whispering ‘I love you’ but didn’t know who or what it was. The circle was a safe womb like space, the trees breathed with her.
Sloe was used with intention; Blackthorn reminds me of self defence of land defence and is associated with the goddess An Mórrigan. I drew into the paper with pencil using my subconscious -surrealist automatic drawing which in places became like Celtic knotwork.
It is a piece of autocartography; undoing commodification and separation, a mapping of connection to otherness and to the energy of the natural world, a genealogy well beyond the patrilineal mappings of a family tree.