Glebe House and Gallery to feature on RTÉ documentary this weekend

The Glebe House and Gallery will feature in a documentary series on Ireland's National Historic Properties.

Legacy is a new, four-part documentary series for RTÉ featuring 15 of the National Historic Properties, with each episode having a specific theme: Centres of Power, Writers and Collectors, Memory and Commemoration, and The Art of the Portrait. The last of the series is on RTÉ 1 this Sunday, June 1, at 6:30pm.

Episode four - The Art of the Portrait - features four historic properties in which portraits have been collected, painted and displayed over the centuries - The Glebe House and Gallery, Kilkenny Castle, Dublin Castle, and Áras an Uachtaráin, in the Phoenix Park.

READ NEXT: Rossnowlagh Farmers Market a catalyst in transforming the local economy

Built in 1828, the Glebe House in Churchill was bought by British landscape artist and portrait painter Derek Hill in 1954, and became his home and studio. Hill was a talented and sought-after artist who painted prominent figures such as the Prince of Wales and Noël Coward and also the local Donegal people he befriended.

The Glebe House also became home to Hill’s eclectic collection of art, furniture and artefacts from his world travels, including works by Picasso and Jack B Yeats. Keen that future generations would be able to enjoy his collection, Hill donated his house and its contents to the nation in 1987, and it became a museum and art gallery. Derek Hill was made an honorary Irish citizen in 1999, the year before he died.

Interviewees include Richard Noble, photographer and friend of Derek Hill; Professor Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland; Patricia McCarthy, historian and author; Dr Jane Fenlon, art historian and author; James Hanley RHA, portrait artist and sculptor Paddy Campbell.

The National Historic Properties portfolio is one of the most interesting property portfolios in Ireland. Owned by the State, and managed by the Office of Public Works, it’s a fascinating and diverse collection of castles, country houses, memorial sites and gardens, consisting of 32 historic properties that are open to the public.

Many of these properties were given to the State as gifts, some were bought by the State, and others, including Áras an Uachtaráin and Dublin Castle, came into the State’s possession when Ireland gained independence in 1922.

Writer and director of Legacy, David Hare, who wrote and directed Henry McIlhenny: Master of Glenveagh and Great Lighthouses of Ireland, explains: “The traditional way to approach this subject would be chronologically or geographically, but instead we've done so thematically. The thematic approach enabled us to include very different and seemingly unrelated buildings and sites from very different eras, and weave them together so that the connections between them become clear.”

Legacy is produced and directed by David Hare for InProductionTV and made with the support of the Office of Public Works.