On St Patrick’s Day, Saturday 17th March 1934, John Joseph Rooney, my grand uncle, aged 33 years, died by drowning in the River Liffey in Dublin in full view of a large crowd who were in the city for the traditional parade and the annual Gaelic football match, the Railway Cup final.
On the day, it was thought that he had walked from his home on Usher’s Island Quay to Burgh Quay and was then seen in the water at about 4.15pm. No one saw how he entered the water. My family believed that he had may have committed suicide and consequently, given the family’s Catholic sensitivities, he was rarely mentioned. My information comes from the pages of the daily newspapers of the time. He was unmarried at the time of his death.
Responding to this near obliteration from my family’s history, I started a painting project in 2014 to pay homage to this man. His story has fascinated me since finding it a few years ago. I also want to reinstate him, bring him ‘in from the cold’, so to speak, so that he is not forgotten.
The project is now complete. It has aimed to trace – in paint – the route of John Rooney’s final journey along the river. Since John Rooney’s time, the infrastructure along the quays has been altered significantly in many places.
The work consists of paintings in gouache and watercolour on paper. The images posted on the website are some of my pieces in creating a body of work. My plan for this project was to execute a series of paintings initially in watercolour and then in acrylic and oils. However, I have stuck to gouache/watercolour throughout the course of the project. I have kept the watercolour and gouache work very fluid to echo that sense of flux my grand uncle must have been experiencing, or had experienced if, as is possible, John Rooney was anticipating his death. The fluidity and looseness of the work is also driven by the enigma that surrounds him. I am trying to capture what is – for me – the haunting quality of John Rooney’s final hour. I can only try to imagine it and paint is my attempt at capturing this evocative and poignant moment.
The overall effect of strongly diluted gouache/watercolour is one that cannot be completely anticipated. I’ve used this fact to try to describe my own sense of mystery about such a public – yet highly personal – death.
I hope this work serves and honours John Joseph Rooney well. May he rest in peace.
February 2022
John it is essential to read this text before looking at the paintings, as it puts the whole gouache/watercolour effect in context of what might have been going on in poor John Joseph’s head at the time. What a beautiful way to commemorate your grand uncle who died so tragically at such an early age. I cannot imagine a more articulate way to honour him than with these wonderful paintings. As I have worked out the existance of the hereafter (with absolutely no help from the Catholic church) I’m sure John Joseph Rooney is very pleased and also very proud of your fine work.