Leitrim artist featured on “The Angelus” inspired by heritage landscape artwork

Leitrim artist Aideen Connolly stars in a new series of reflective film shown at 6pm on RTÉ One each day during “The Angelus”.

The film features traditional crafts, art and skills, with strongly person-centred themes firmly rooted in nature and the elements, which were shot in many locations across Ireland.

“I did not expect so many people to see my work with this new series featured at RTÉ One. It was a great surprise”, says Aideen. In this film, we see the artist sketching and capturing the atmosphere of Ballindoon Abbey, a former Dominican monastery from the early 1500s founded by Thomas O'Farrell.

Aideen says that she felt a strong connection with the former monastery. When invited to join the “The Angelus” series, the Leitrim artist visited the place and found a beautiful heritage location that rests on the quiet shores of Lough Arrow.

“I had a strong connection with the heritage of the place. All the people who passed through the former Dominican monastery with their own stories were really tidy to my work. When I visited the location for the first time, I thought it was quite unique and very unusual with its lovely architecture - absolutely stunning,” shares Aideen.

Also known as St Mary's Priory, the Ballindoon Abbey remains consist of a Middle English gothic-style church with a nave, chancel and tower - located on the east end of the north wall of the nave and contains burial memorials dating from the 17th century to today.

“The former Dominican monastery is located by Lough Arrow; if you turn the corner, it is possible to see a church by the hill. By crossing the field, there is a cemetery that is still in use. All about Ballindoon Abbey is quite unique,” says Aideen.

Ballindoon Abbey fell victim to the Tudor dissolution - known as the first Act of Supremacy from the Parliament of England between 1536-1541.

To Aideen, the former Dominican monastery is not a scene of decay and ruin but a place of beauty and peace, steeped in history and nature.

For “The Angelus,” to create a picture that captures the place, the Leitrim artist dips her fingers in water in an ancient stone stoup at the site, which, for generations, has been associated with cures and healing.

“You cannot help but think of the people who designed and built them into Abbey walls over 500 years ago. St Dominic's Stone can be found to the north of the site, whose water it is said has a cure for skin ailments. I cannot confirm it works, but the stone's view is worth the stroll. The Frazer Family own the farm surrounding the Abbey, and they are featured in the film too,” says Aideen.

‘Light and shade bring the ordinary to life.’

Graduated at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Aideen Connolly is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work includes painting, drawing and printmaking.

Originally from Donegal, Aideen now lives with her family in Leitrim, dedicating herself to creating her landscape work. She is a Manorhamilton Print Group member - designed to facilitate, teach, encourage learning from and network with all printmaking creatives.

Aideen is also a member of the Visual Artist Ireland, Sligo County Council Arts Service Artist Panel, Ottawa-Gatineau Printmaking Connective, and a committee member of the Townlands & People Heritage Group - which has secured funding through the Heritage Council to record inscriptions on the headstones in Conwal Graveyard, Glenade, and to train volunteers to survey the Old Cemetery Kinlough.

As a committee member of the Townlands & People Glenade Ballintrillick Tawley, located on the Leitrim / Sligo border, the multi-disciplinary artist is involved with impressive and innovative community heritage initiatives.

“The heritage quite inspires me, the marks people leave and form in the landscape. In my work, I strive to capture fleeting moments where light and shade bring the ordinary to life,” says Aideen.

Aideen's work is based on the time taken to stop, stand and observe transcendent moments marked by traces of ancient people, paths that were laid down centuries before, and homes and locations that were abandoned to the elements.

“There are amazing buildings with unique monuments and architecture, but I am interested in the small things, which all are left by people. I went to a plant for an old monastery that used to make beer, and its architecture is connected to Donegal town - there is so much history, and you can still find in the old plants what other people left and these small things left in those landscapes that I use to create my work,” she said.

In recent years, the Leitrim artist's work has become more sustainable with environmentally friendly creation methods. Aideen integrates charcoal, inks and paints using pigments and items grown or foraged in the landscape around her.

For example, the artist created a range of prints using SCOBY, a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, as the plate, where kombucha fermentation was used to create art.

Aideen was invited to sketch the Abbey ruins at Ballindoon on Lough Arrow as part of the series of films for “The Angelus” in February 2023 - "the location is stunning, as is the building with its beautiful stone masonry, a rare triple vaulted archway on two levels and bell tower. I suppose the location was a good match to document the draw. It was a lovely thing to be asked for,” she added.

From a tendering process, the series of films was commissioned by an independent production company based in Maynooth, aiming to produce eight non-verbal films that are conducive to the viewers, a reflection of all faiths or none.

Six new films are available at RTÉ One, and two more are coming up around Christmas.