A solo exhibition of abstract paintings by Tommy Halligan opens in Letterkenny

There is no room for self-doubt in Tommy Halligan’s paintings; raw and unfiltered “Melting pot of colour” he says, “Is about putting feelings onto canvas”.

The spontaneous marks, vivid colours and texture suggest a flow of emotions, possibly anger, suffering and pain, as well as hope, courage, love and a calm serenity. The abstract art on show invites you to come on in, take a look, and find your own meaning.

“I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for” - Georgia O’Keefe

Tommy Halligan was born on July 15, 1967 Drogheda Co Louth, and when he was 10 the Halligans relocated to Letterkenny. He and his three brothers attended St Eunan’s College for boys.

Tommy was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the prime of his life at age 36, his mobility is impaired and he deals with severe pain on a daily basis.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way” - Victor Fankle

“Painting”, Tommy says “has given me a way to manage my mind while the pain is unrelenting”. Not to define Tommy by the ongoing challenges he faces, we see that despite all of them he has emerged out of lockdown as a self-trained artist.\

Turning back the clock and fresh out of school Tommy’s job at Seamus McAteer’s shop ‘County Seat,’ selling men’s wear on Main Street Letterkenny, was not just a job but a vocation, networking came naturally to Tommy and he would often bring new customers into the shop and select their wardrobe for them with great gusto.

Nothing was going to hold Tommy back and after eight years of hard grafting at the job he loved; he opened his own shop called ‘Portobello Road’, in Green’s Market Centre on Main Street. At the same time as running this new venture, he was also becoming well-known as a DJ around the town and even had a slot on Highland Radio.

Although Tommy would not pick up a paintbrush for another 30 years, there was already evidence at this time that he had a creative flare when his imaginative window dressing at County Seat won him first prize for best window display, in the Letterkenny International Folk Festival, and again when he was commissioned by Michael McElwee to dress his shop window on the Church Lane.

Later on his mother, the late Margaret Halligan could never have known how proud her son Tommy would make her when she suggested he might apply for the job as a personal communications consultant, selling mobile phones in ‘The Link’ (owned by Dixons Retail, the UK’s largest consumer electronics retail group), at Foyleside Shopping Centre, Derry; because he not only got the job with no previous experience.

but went on to win the UK Sales Manager of the Year award three times in a row. At the time Tommy was diagnosed with MS he had his own furniture business in Letterkenny called ‘Showhouse’. The renovation, design and success of the shop were entirely down to his careful selection of quality furniture, his unique taste and his creative flair. Naturally, the diagnosis hit him like a ton of bricks and he reluctantly had to close down the business.

Now in his 50’s and a father of three - Lauren, Shannon and Tom, as well as having three grandchildren - Tommy lives in Kilmacrenan and is able to maintain a degree of independence with the help of his PA’s. He uses a rollator to walk very short distances but tires easily, and so he is generally a wheelchair user for trips away from home. Although the pain is constant, he says; “Life is hard sometimes but the way it is for me I am grateful for what I have, there are people who don’t have what I have”.

The art of abstract painting fuels his imagination and on completing a recent painting he commented, “I was just bursting to get that one out! Painting and creativity are what keep me going these days and it gives me something to look forward to each day. There is a lot to take on when you have an autoimmune disease, and I think that being able to express my feelings in my paintings helps”.

Tommy’s working life, for him, was always about interacting with people, and in some way “helping them to feel good about themselves”, he says. Whether it was with a new suit or a pair of jeans, a night out at the local disco, or buying a new phone or nice piece of furniture for their home, and in that vein he hopes his exhibition of recent paintings will help others to pick up a brush and paint, as he feels if he can, anyone can.

Charlie’s cafe has been the hub of the community Tommy lived and worked in for as long as he can remember. Although these past few years he has taken a step back from that community, he can still step into Charlie’s cafe and be part of it again. When Giles McGee, the current owner of Charley’s Cafe, said he might have a wall on which to hang Tommy’s paintings, everything
fell into place for this exhibition which consists of 20 paintings varying in size, all painted on canvas using acrylic paint and primed with gesso.

The show opened this week and runs until early 2024 and 20% of all the profit will be donated to MS Ireland, Donegal branch.