Micheál de Búrca facts for kids

Micheál de Búrca (born Michael Bourke) was a famous Irish artist. He lived from 1912 to 1985. Micheál came from Castlebar, a town in Ireland. He became the Director of the National College of Art and Design in 1942. He loved to paint beautiful pictures of nature, especially landscapes (scenes of land) and seascapes (scenes of the sea). He often used oil paints for land scenes and watercolours for sea scenes. One of his well-known paintings is "Summer Evening, Achill".

Early Life in Castlebar

Micheál de Búrca was born in 1912 in Tipperary, Ireland. He grew up in a house called Maryland House in Castlebar. His parents were Thomas and Madge Bourke. His family ran a successful business that started in 1881. They sold many things, including harnesses for horses, bicycles, and even early motorcars! They also owned a cinema and a power station that gave electricity to Castlebar.

His Education Journey

Michael started his schooling at St. Gerald's College in Castlebar. After that, he went to the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. This school later became the National College of Art and Design, where he would one day become the Director.

A Career in Art and Education

After finishing his studies, Michael started working as an Art Inspector for the Department of Education. In this job, he visited schools and helped create the national art plan for high schools.

In 1941, the Director of the National College of Art suddenly passed away. Michael was chosen to be the Acting Director. Then, in 1942, he officially became the Director. Because the Director needed to be a Gaeilgeoir (someone who loves and speaks the Irish language), Michael changed his name to the Irish form: Micheál de Búrca. He was already fluent in Irish! He first signed his paintings as Michael Bourke, but later switched to Micheál de Búrca. Even as Director, he kept painting and showing his art.

During World War II, he brought back important art skills to the college. These included making stained glass, screen printing, weaving, and metalwork. To help with this, he asked Patrick McElroy, a blacksmith and former RAF soldier, to teach about metalwork and enamelling.

Around the same time, Micheál organized a special traveling art exhibition. This exhibition used trains to take art to technical schools all over the country. The main goal was to "awaken interest in art and encourage art teaching." About 60 artworks were part of this show. All the art was kindly lent by artists and owners for the exhibition.

The exhibition included paintings by many famous artists. Some of these were Sir John Lavery, Walter Osborne, Nathaniel Hone, Jack Butler Yeats, and Harry Kernoff.

Later Life and Legacy

Micheál de Búrca retired in 1971. He moved back to Westport, where he passed away in 1985.

Themes and Painting Style

Micheál mostly painted using oil paints on canvas or wooden boards. However, for paintings with a lot of water, he often used watercolours on board. He usually started by sketching his idea with a pencil, then added colors.

He found most of his inspiration from nature, especially the beautiful West of Ireland. Many of his paintings show places like Achill Island in Mayo and Connemara in Galway. He particularly enjoyed painting mountains and large areas of water, often in the same picture. He also painted many scenes of harbors and quays. These showed fishermen working, traditional Irish boats like currachs and Galway hookers, and various piers.

Art Exhibitions

Micheál de Búrca often showed his paintings at many exhibitions across Ireland. He was a regular at the annual RHA Exhibition and the NCAD Exhibition. After he passed away, there have been two special exhibitions of his work. One was in 1988 in Cork City, and another in 2009 in Westport. The 2009 exhibition was part of the Westport Arts Festival.