Townscape artwork unveiled

A beautiful townscape was produced by residents of Castlemanor Nursing Home last week with the help and guidance of artist Paul Galligan.

The artwork was created on Friday to celebrate National Arts in Nursing Homes Day, as part of the Bealtaine Festival.

With the help of staff members, and Galligan, the residents of Castlemanor Nursing Home took part in a series of artistic workshops which involved painting and drawing the iconic buildings of Cavan Town.

Will Govan master-minded the project and secured funding from ‘2026 National Arts in Nursing Homes Day Awards’. He was confident the work’s theme would resonate with the residents, many of whom are deeply familiar and connected with the county town.

Two workshops were hosted in Castlemanor Nursing Home allowing the creativity of residents to shine through - showcasing the important role that the arts continue to play in people’s lives as we age.

“Paul did the drawing and from 10am this morning, many many of the residents filled in the elements with the help of members of the Moth Studios in Cavan, who very kindly came in to help.

“We worked tirelessly through the day to produce it,” reported Will.

Will, a visual artist and actor in his own right, noted that the residents include some notable artists.

“Fortunately we have Mike McGovern, who is a set designer and lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow for many many years and Kieran Cullivan.”

Kieran studied art full-time at the National College of Art and Design. Although he worked in accounts as a career, he continued painting as a hobby. Impressively Kieran received a scholarship and went to Rome at the Central Institute of Restoration.

“One of the projects they had was working on the frescos of the Domus Aurea, which was the golden house of Nero. We were working on a fragment about three metres by three metres, cleaning it. It was meticulous work. That work might still be going on for all I know, it was painstaking,” he recalls.

The Cavan Town man continues to indulge his love of art by sketching portraits of the other residents.

Asked about the process of creating the huge townscape, he explains: “Someone with a steady hand would have to do the outline work and those with a slightly looser stroke did the flat areas, the broad areas. And that was left as a choice.”

Asked for his opinion on the completed work, Kieran

“I actually thought it was very creditable considering you had people from a background, of very little art to almost professional."

Another resident, Pat Doughty from Clifferna enjoyed art in his youth and was involved in painting the enormous scene of Cavan Town. Looking at the end result the former suckler farmer described it as “a great job”.

Will echoed this sentiment: “I think it’s brilliant, and I hope it’s here for a long time. We’re going to have to find a really nice place to put it,” he said with a laugh that acknowledged it’ll take a big wall.

He is hopeful the project has inspired some of the residents to take an interest in art.

“I think it’s invaluable in order to get people involved in painting, using their hands and expressing themselves and being part of an artistic community is very valuable.

“There’s no reason why people, just because they are in a nursing home, shouldn’t have the benefit of all of the amenities that the broader public has. If people in the community can join an art group then people in a nursing home should be able to as well.”