A new exhibition, 'Echoes of the Isles', will run in Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Galway city library from August 18-22, as part of National Heritage Week.

Funded through the Heritage Stewardship Fund by the Heritage Council, the collaborative project highlights the cultural and ecological heritage of Ireland’s Atlantic islands through contemporary visual art and digital heritage.

'Echoes of the Isles' features new work by artists Róisín Doherty and John Flynn, both of whom draw inspiration from the interwoven themes of landscape, folklore, archaeology, and memory.

Their work aims to bring attention to both the tangible and intangible aspects of island life, exploring how tradition, nature, and community interact in these unique environments.

Róisín Doherty, originally from Cruit Island, Co. Donegal, is a Co. Galway-based artist whose multidisciplinary approach combines drawing, painting, sound, photography, and found objects, is one of those featured.

A recent graduate of the MA in Creative Practice at ATU Galway, she has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP26, in Glasgow.

Her contribution to the project reflects on the fragile machair habitats and the erosion of traditional island life, offering a poetic and immersive engagement with Ireland’s coastal ecology and cultural heritage.

John Flynn, a visual artist from Cork, creates work that blends mythology, archaeology, and the natural world.

Influenced by Ireland’s deep tradition of storytelling, he provides new visual interpretations of ancient narratives, using his practice to bridge past and present in fresh and accessible ways.

The 'Echoes of the Isles' will be overseen by ATU’s Gary Dempsey, a digital heritage expert at the School of Design & Creative Arts and a member of ATU’s heritage research group.

Inspired by the work of 19th-century antiquarian artists whose field drawings accompanied archaeological exploration, he sees art as a powerful means of communicating heritage to the wider public.

Dempsey said: “'Echoes of the Isles' is about reconnecting people with place.

The exhibition provides a window into Ireland’s island heritage, raising awareness of the islands' ongoing transformation, and the value of safeguarding their stories, species, buildings, and traditions.

Visitors are invited to consider the importance of heritage not just as history, but as something alive and continually shaped by community, environment and creativity.

All are welcome to the exhibition, and admission is free. More information is available on the Heritage Week website or from Gary Dempsey, School of Design & Creative Arts, ATU Galway.