Brian Whelan

Artist Brian Whelan's work is patronised by both the church and pub. His paintings, inspired by pre-reformation art, include "The Martyrdom of St. Edmund" and “The Magi” installed in St. Edmundsbury Cathedral in 2005 and 2009 respectively.

Paintings which draw on his London-Irish experience can be seen on the official Shane MacGowan website (Paddy Rolling Stone), the website of The Popes and the just released CD ‘Outlaw Heaven’.
 

''Clear, strong, prayerful work, with joy at its centre.''
Art critic Sister Wendy Beckett

“He goes to dark, grim places, places that in the modern world we like to pretend don’t exist and when he gets there he cracks jokes. This work is the work of the medieval jester.”
Joe Horgan, Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award winner

“His work is bold and commanding.”
Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize for literature

“Looking at a Whelan painting is like looking at a stained glass window, through the eyes of Bart Simpson.”
Writer and critic Steven Martin