Fundraiser for British-Irish Rights Watch

AN OPPORTUNITY TO OWN A RARE COPY OF
ROBERT BALLAGH’S PORTRAIT OF PATRICK FINUCANE

Thanks to the generosity of world famous Irish artist Robert Ballagh, and with the kind consent of the owners, the Belfast Media Group and Paul Cooper, and the blessing of the Finucane family, British Irish rights watch has available one print of Robert Ballagh’s powerful portrait of Patrick Finucane, the Belfast lawyer murdered in 1989.

One of only a handful of prints in existence, it is offered on condition that it will not be reproduced without the express permission of the artist and the owners.

If you would like to be the proud owner of this wonderful framed print, send us your offer of a charitable donation to British Irish Rights Watch by midnight on 30th June 2010.  We will publish the highest offer received to date anonymously on our website regularly between now and then, so that you can see the state of play.  Because art should never be undervalued, we cannot accept offers of less than £750, €750, or $950, but we hope to raise much more than that, as this is a print that can only accumulate in value, given its rarity, and the fame of both the artist and his subject.  The print will be shipped, free of charge, courtesy of and with best wishes from the Finucane family, to whoever has made the highest offer by the deadline.  Offers can be made in sterling, euros or dollars.

To make your offer, please e-mail birw@birw.org by midnight British summer time on 30th June 2010 and put “Pat Finucane print” in the subject line.  Offers will be deemed to include consent to the condition that the print is not to be reproduced without the express permission of the artist and the owners.

Robert Ballagh is an Irish artist and designer whose works are to be found in the National Gallery of Ireland, the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Ulster Museum, Trinity College Dublin and elsewhere.  In 1969 he represented Ireland at the Paris Biennale and his paintings have been exhibited from Florence to Tokyo.  His theatre and set designs include Riverdance and the Special Olympics in Dublin in 2003.  His portrait of Patrick Finucane was commissioned by the Belfast Media Group and Paul Cooper to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his murder.

Patrick Finucane was a gifted lawyer who was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in Belfast in 1989.  Since his death credible evidence has emerged which implicates the army, the police and the intelligence service in his murder.  International opinion, led by the United Nations and former Canadian Supreme Court judge Peter Cory, has concluded that a public inquiry is required into his death, but 21 years on his family are still campaigning to be told the truth about the circumstances surrounding his brutal murder.

British Irish RIGHTS WATCH (BIRW) is an independent non-governmental organisation and registered charity that has been monitoring the human rights dimension of the conflict, and the peace process, in Northern Ireland since 1990.  Our vision is of a Northern Ireland in which respect for human rights is integral to all its institutions and experienced by all who live there.  Our mission is to secure respect for human rights in Northern Ireland and to disseminate the human rights lessons learned from the Northern Ireland conflict in order to promote peace, reconciliation and the prevention of conflict.  BIRW’s services are available, free of charge, to anyone whose human rights have been violated because of the conflict, regardless of religious, political or community affiliations.  BIRW take no position on the eventual constitutional outcome of the conflict.