Honouring Veronica Bolay’s legacy

Veronica Bolay died aged 78 in January 2020, leaving an art world in mourning and a public who loved her work bereft. Perhaps the greatest gift an artist can leave behind, greater even than their body of work, is to continue to inspire others, to move them to create too. And here in Mayo, Veronica continues to do just that.
Born in Hamburg in 1941, in the midst of World War II, Veronica Bolay grew up in post-war Germany and went on to study painting and costume design in the National College of Art and Design in Hamburg and group-therapy in Aachen University. She and her husband, Peter Jankowsky, moved to Ireland in 1971. They fell in love with Westport and Clare Island in particular, and eventually moved to Mayo in the mid-1990s.
Throughout her artistic career, Bolay was strongly inspired by landscape of the west of Ireland, her evocative and atmospheric work capturing the mood and magic of everyday scenes and textures, often in radiant light. Somehow, her ethereal style could be many things at once. It was simultaneously abstract and realistic. It was often light of touch yet full of depth. A scene could be quiet yet exhilarating, still yet full of movement.
A member of Aosdána – the Irish association that honours artists whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the country’s creative arts – Veronica was also member of the Royal Hibernian Academy and a valued board member at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar. In honour of her memory, the Linenhall has created the Bolay Residency, which supports emerging artists as they establish their careers. Universally regarded as gracious, kind, warm and generous, her contribution to the arts in Mayo has been immeasurable and indelible.

A cottage’s contents
Veronica lived in a cottage in Letterbrock, near Drummin, outside Westport, and after her death, a good friend was tasked with clearing its contents.
Looking around Veronica’s home, Marguerite Gannon knew she was gazing on treasures, and she couldn’t bear the idea of her friend’s art supplies and personal effects being consigned to history, unused and unappreciated.
In collaboration with Veronica’s son, Aengus Jankowsky, Marguerite decided to contact the small local school, Drummin National School, to ask if they would be interested in taking some of the art supplies and putting them to use. The principal, Katie McGarrigle, was only too delighted to accept, and soon a wonderful connection was forged – one that was to bear the most beautiful fruit.
“Over the coming months, the children of Drummin NS learned more and more about Veronica Bolay,” Katie explained to The Mayo News. “Marguerite invited the school to visit Veronica’s cottage, which was a very special and moving experience. The children were given the chance to explore her home and take in the beautiful surroundings of the cottage, which inspired so much of her work.”
The children also enjoyed a visit to the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar, where they got to view many of Veronica’s pieces, giving them what Katie called ‘a greater understanding of the variation and substance of Veronica’s painting’.
Soon the idea of an exhibition of their own, dedicated to Bolay, was born.
“We discussed how best to use all the wonderful canvases, brushes and paint that we had been so kindly gifted. As a class, the children felt that an art exhibition would be the best way to showcase their work and their experiences of Veronica Bolay and her life.
“Each child was given a canvas and encouraged to paint a reflection of their learning. It was a wonderful opportunity for me, as their teacher, to witness their varying styles and interests. It gave a great insight into what inspired them most about Veronica and her life.
“We invited the local community, and Marguerite of course, to attend, and it was highly regarded and received well by all. Each child also wrote a short artist’s statement to explain their choice of subject matter, materials and techniques.”

Trains of thought
Among the many truly special artworks that the children created was one that moved Marguerite deeply.
While going through Veronica’s cottage, she and Aengus had come across a drawer full of train tickets. Train journeys were a large part of Veronica’s life. One of her earliest memories, and one that she spoke about often with Marguerite, was of being handed through the window of a train as a small child – a train that she and her mother Kate were boarding in Vollrathsruhe. They were were fleeing the bombed city of Hamburg, where their home had been destroyed during Operation Gomorrah, and heading to her grandmother’s farm near the old city of Lubeck. Later in life, Veronica undertook countless train journeys from Dublin to her beloved Mayo ‘where she felt most at home’.
“I knew the symbolism of her train tickets when Aengus, her son, and I had come on them at her cottage in Leiterbroc. I suggested to him that they go with her art materials to Drummin National School, and he very kindly donated them.”
These tickets, so meticulously and lovingly kept by Bolay over the years, were used by the children to create several artworks, symbolising the many journeys – personal and artistic – that she had taken throughout her life, including one of a train. When Marguerite saw this piece she instantly adored it, understanding its significance and the children’s insightful tribute.
The exhibition also featured lots of paintings, lovely portraits of the artist and charming depictions of her cottage. An eye-catching piece by Martin Heraty (12, Sixth Class), called ‘The Garden’, is reminiscent of one of Bolay’s much-loved oil paintings, ‘Woman at Rough Point’ – in both artworks a blonde woman in blue is flanked by two stone-pillared walls, though the scenes are quite different. Another painting by Kitty Gibbons (12, Sixth Class) shows Veronica in blue against a blue background, putting the viewer in mind of a self-portrait once created by the artist herself.

‘Incredibly moving’
From start to finish, the entire project has been hugely rewarding for the children and the teachers alike.
“This year of journeying through art was a wonderful experience in all,” Katie said, “from our first meeting with Marguerite to the finale of the art exhibition, where the wider school community came together to appreciate the work displayed and to remember Veronica Bolay.
“Here at Drummin NS, creativity through the arts is encouraged and nurtured. Our small numbers (there are just nine pupils) mean that each individual child is given the chance to express their ideas and imagination to a willing audience. They are motivated by consistent guidance and the building of solid, respectful relationships with their peers and staff.
“Art is a subject that is not always given adequate consideration in schools, despite its many benefits. In Drummin NS, appreciation of art gives all children a chance to express themselves and experience success. It gives the pupil space to communicate their emotions, thoughts and experiences. As principal, one of my main goals is to ensure that each child has a voice. Involvement in art facilitates this, time and time again.
“We would like to thank Marguerite Gannon, not only for the donation of the art supplies, but for believing in our little school and seeing its many benefits for the children. Her unwavering support throughout the year has been truly heartwarming.
“We know that these young artists will continue to flourish and develop their many skills. The future of creativity and self-expression is in good hands, if they are anything to go by.
“As for the very talented and much-loved Veronica Bolay; while we never met her, we feel as though we have known her forever. We feel privileged to have connected with her, and we really hope we have made her proud.”
There is no doubt that Veronica would have been thrilled with the children’s artistic tribute. Marguerite is sure of it: “She would have loved it and have been very proud of the children and teachers,” she said.
Although he was on the other side of the world, Veronica’s son Aengus was also able to view the exhibition.
“I’m very proud of the work the students at Drummin school have created,” he told The Mayo News. “It was incredibly moving when Marguerite walked me through the pieces on her phone, live streaming it to me in New Zealand. My mother would love this and feel very impressed and touched by the fine work of these students. I can think of no better way to honour her legacy.”