Artist in Residence at Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick (2025)
“It has been a profound privilege to immerse myself in this 800-year-old environment. Using a cathedral chapel as a temporary studio, this project focused on historical translation and community engagement. My work acknowledges the profound privilege of painting where centuries of human experience: our fears, our compassion, our endurance—are held in stone and story.” Nici Le Gear
Echoes of Community
The Choir in this piece, the cold, ancient stone is humanized by the physicality of sound. Inspired by the cathedral’s musical heritage, the work explores how music fills the soul and creates a sense of belonging. It captures the vibrant energy of the community that continues to breathe life into these historic walls.
Echoes of Time
The West Door represents a threshold of change. Once an exclusive entrance for royalty, it is now a democratic space where every visitor is equal. This painting layers time – depicting monks, bishops, and modern-day dog walkers. To show the cathedral as a living, breathing part of the Limerick community.
Echoes of Isolation
The “Leper’s Squint” serves as a powerful metaphor for the collective experience of isolation. By connecting the medieval history of the cathedral with the recent memories of the global pandemic. This work commemorates our universal human desire for connection and the “architecture of isolation” that we have all, at some point, navigated.
Artist Statement
My six-week residency in Saint Mary’s Cathedral has been an immersion in time. Working within these medieval walls, I set out to explore the concept of echoes. How the human experience recorded in stone centuries ago continues to reverberate in contemporary life.
I was drawn to specific architectural details that act as tangible records of historical and communal memory: the Leper’s Squint, a tiny opening that speaks to isolation and our longing for connection; the West Door, a threshold where centuries of footsteps have passed; and the Choir, where voices still rise and bring these ancient stones to life
The central investigation of this series is the deep, unspoken connection between past fear and present endurance. After living through COVID-19, the medieval practice of separating the sick felt hauntingly familiar. These paintings explore how our collective experiences – of isolation, of resilience, of gathering together – echo across centuries.
Echoes in Stone is a testament to the resilience held within sacred architecture. A reminder that our collective fears, compassion, and longing for hope are timeless, held perfectly in the quiet memory of stone and story.
The Artist’s process: from reflection to realisation
The residency began with an intensive research phase and community engagement sessions. Which allowed the artist to move “from soaking it all in to actually making decisions”. The key was identifying where community experiences “converged” to select the final themes.
The iterative process involved the creation of seven painting studies. These studies were crucial. They helped in testing light and composition. They also provided a feeling for scale and mood before committing to the three final large pieces.
This methodical approach ensured that the final artworks were grounded in technical exploration and conceptual precision. The process also included relatable, practical challenges. Such as the initial struggle to find a single focal point and the ongoing need to “remember to wear layers” when painting in the cool, ancient stone building.
Conclusion
The Echoes in Stone project successfully used the physical presence of Saint Mary’s Cathedral to articulate the enduring patterns of human experience.
The three major themes – Isolation (The Leper’s Squint), Endurance and Inclusion (The West Door), and Resonance and Belonging (The Choir) – together form a cohesive visual narrative of the human condition.
The analysis confirms that the community perceives the cathedral not just as a monument, but as a living entity that actively builds community and serves as a site of resilience against the inevitable trials of time. By layering contemporary figures, social practices (tourists, community choirs), and recent collective traumas (pandemic memory) onto the medieval craftsmanship, the artwork contributes significantly to the idea that the community is “doing history now” and actively shaping the future narrative of this ancient space.
The residency achieved its goal of ensuring that the cathedral’s history is a participatory one, integrating diverse perspectives. From local adult visitors to the observations of the third-class students. The final paintings stand as a robust testimonial to the power of public arts programs to mediate complex history and collective emotion.
Acknowledgements
This residency was generously funded by the Arts Council and Limerick Arts Office through the Limerick Arts Programme 2025.
I extend special thanks to the Dean, and staff and volunteers of Saint Mary’s Cathedral for their incredible hospitality and for allowing me to make a studio in the heart of this sacred space.
