Chief Justice print raises €7,500 for Irish charities
Irish art publisher Hanna Fine Art has announced the donation of €7,500 to a number of Irish charities from the sale of the fine art print of artist Stephen McClean’s original painting of the Round Hall in Dublin’s Four Courts.
“The Round Hall” was published in a highly-collectable limited edition of only 150 prints, all of which were hand-signed by Mr Justice Frank Clarke, the Chief Justice of Ireland, to create a unique legal print which is now acknowledged to be one of the most important in Irish legal history.
The print was published in association with The Bar of Ireland, the Law Society of Ireland and King’s Inns with the kind support of Irish Legal News to raise a total of €7,500.00 for four Irish charities.
Mr Justice Clarke said: “The charities nominated to benefit from the sale of the prints – AWARE, the Bar Benevolent Fund, Calcutta Run and the Capuchin Day Centre – have seen the use of their respective services increase as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The equal allocation of the proceeds from the sale of ‘The Round Hall’ print is timely as the ability for fundraising by those charitable causes has been greatly hampered over the past few months.
“I am delighted to have been involved in this project and I wish to thank Paul and Maria Hanna for being so generous in their time and for facilitating the successful sale of these prints. In addition, I wish to thank all those who purchased a print. By doing so, you have lent your support to these worthwhile charitable causes at a time when such support is needed more than ever.”
Dominic Layden, CEO of AWARE, added: “We are delighted to receive €1,875.00 from the proceeds of the sale of signed prints of the Four Courts.
“We are forecasting that our income this year will be reduced by about 40 per cent as a consequence of the impact of COVID-19. Demand for our services though is rising significantly and we are doing our best to meet this demand and by growing our volunteer capacity for what we anticipate will be increased levels of demand.
“The funds generated through this event will enable us to build that capacity. We thank all those involved and those who purchased prints.”
Paul Hanna said: “Hanna Fine Art wishes to thank the Chief Justice for his kind and generous support in taking the time from his busy schedule to sign all the prints and also The Bar of Ireland, King’s Inns and the Law Society of Ireland for their enthusiastic support.
“The funds raised were due to be handed over to the charities at a special presentation event but obviously due to COVID, this was not possible so, being very conscious of the need of the charities at this difficult time, Hanna Fine Art took the decision to distribute the funds now rather than delay until a formal presentation might be possible”
Maria Hanna added: “Thanks to the legal profession in Ireland, this entire edition sold out within twelve months of its official release and, due to this success Hanna Fine Art has now published a second print, which will raise a further €12,500.00 which will be divided equally between Breast Cancer Ireland and The Denham Fellowship.”
“Entering the Four Courts” has been published in a limited edition of only 250 prints, all of which have been signed by Mrs Justice Susan Denham, the first woman Chief Justice of Ireland, and Mary Robinson, the first woman president of Ireland.
The print will mark and celebrate the contribution of women to the legal profession in Ireland over the last 100 years.
This edition has been brought out in association with The Bar of Ireland, the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association, the Irish Women Lawyers Association and the Law Society of Ireland.
For further information on “Entering the Four Courts” please contact Maria Hanna on 085 112 2388 or maria@hannafineart.co.uk