Ireland's collectors: a historical perspective: collecting in Ireland today is often depicted solely as the pursuit by the nouveaux riches of trophy canvases by Jack B. Yeats. Yet, as William Laffan describes in this detailed analysis of contemporary Irish collectors, some remarkable and little-known collections of international significance are being formed, eclipsing even those of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy

For good or ill, English peers have had an enormous influence on Irish life, with many of the principal streets of Dublin still bearing their names. Viceroys, sent to govern in Dublin Castle, were among the most significant collectors and patrons of Irish art. Very recently, for example, a pair of glorious landscapes by Thomas Roberts emerged on the art market, having remained in the family of the 1st Earl Harcourt, who had commissioned them when Lord Lieutenant in the 1770s. A quite different peer, Lord Kirkham, in addition to his very significant collections of Old Master and impressionist paintings, has quietly formed all outstanding collection of eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth-century Irish painting. As he is advised by Alan Hobart, it is not surprising that there is a clear focus on the naturalism of artists inspired by Bastien-Lepage. Kirkham's holdings of artists such as Orpen (Fig 7) and Lavery (Fig 4) are unsurpassed by any collection, public or private.

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One of the most interesting aspects to Kirkham's collection is the way that Irish art is not treated in isolation. Instead, works by major Irish artists are shown side by side with their English and French contemporaries. Despite the attempts by Hugh Lane and others to create an Irish School, the most interesting Irish artists have always worked within the international mainstream, and this contextual approach makes this point abundantly clear. Although a major benefactor of the National Gallery in Dublin, to whom he has loaned Frank O'Meara's masterpiece Reverie (Fig. 9), Lord Kirkham has no family connections with Ireland. His perceptive collecting of Irish art is of unrecognised significance, as it is bought purely for the quality of the art, rather than for any personal or national associations.

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In the past, Ireland has benefited greatly from the donation of major collections to the state, often front foreigners who made Ireland their home. Chester Beatty gave his library with its richness of Islamic and western manuscripts, Japanese and Durer prints to the nation in the 1950s. In 1987 Sir Alfred and Lady Beit presented their collection of old master paintings (including works by Vermeer, Goya and Velazquez) to the National Gallery. Happily, this tradition has continued and perhaps one of the most refreshing aspects of the collecting scene in Ireland is the generous support, both financial and in terms of expertise, that all the collectors included in this article have given to Irish cultural institutions, particularly the National Gallery, but also the Museum of Modern Art, the Hunt Museum in Limerick and the Irish Georgian Society. The chair of the National Gallery's board is currently the energetic businessman Lochlann Quinn, one of the great collectors of twentieth century Irish painting (especially the work of Roderic O'Conor), who, together with his wife, Brenda, has presented the gallery with many important paintings. Together with Martin Naughton, Quinn owns the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, where a selection from their collections is hung.