A post war tribute

One of Cork’s most significant pieces of art is set to feature on a special stamp commemorating the midway point of the Irish War of Independence.

Séan Keating’s ‘Men of the South’ (1921) will appear on one of four commemorative stamps which will be issued by An Post throughout 2020.

Keating’s iconic painting was made during a truce in the Irish War of Independence. The painting depicts members of the North Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army, Jim Riordan, Denis O’Mullane, Jim Cashman, John Jones, Roger Kiely, and Dan Browne.

Much of Keating’s work at this time documented the changes he witnessed during the Irish War of Independence, and the Civil War which followed.

“Seán Keating's Men of the South speaks so much to the Ireland of a century ago,” said Michael Waldron, Assistant Curator of Collections at Crawford Art Gallery. “It combines hope and tense determination, as well as national and local history.

“As much as it is about the actions of the War of Independence, it also seems to contain a symbolic reference to the virtue of waiting and withholding fire,” he added.

The painting was purchased from the artist in 1924 through the Crawford Art Gallery's Gibson Bequest Fund, and has since become a go-to painting for visitors.

Men of the South is currently on display at Crawford Art Gallery as part of the free exhibition Mise Éire, and throughout the year.