98 / 214
98
The Cyril Murray Collection
Following Gerard Dillon’s stroke in early 1971, friends and family visited the artist in the Adelaide Hospital in Dublin and
one of these friends was Cyril Murray. James White stated that Cyril Murray met Gerard Dillon in 1945 when they were
recruited to work for the London builder P.J. Walls to carry out emergency repairs for bombed housing sites. Provided
with a flat close to Regents Park, Cyril remembered their first job was replacing the bombed-out windows and clearing
rubble from houses in Ponder’s End in North London. Gerard Dillon made an impression on the seventeen-year-old
and Cyril referred to his apprenticeship with Gerard as his ‘university.’ He explained to White that he and Gerard were
a group of mostly Northern Irish men, who called themselves, ‘The Flying Squad.’ As a house painter before the War in
London, Gerard became the natural leader and they were happy to be given instruction but none of the group were
allowed to call Gerard a foreman. Others in the group included, Paddy Kelly, Paul Lynas, and Charlie Kelly. Recalling
those days living and working together, Cyril told White ‘we all loved him-he was an immensely popular chap and we
looked up to him. He was a sort of keystone. When there were rows and disputes, he would settle them. He was terri-
ble young in his attitudes. Interminable arguments and discussions went on about art, religion, literature and politics.
Our life was just one long debate. Others overhearing our discussions probably thought we were having flaming rows
but it was our Northern Irish way of conversing.’
(1)
Dillon maintained contact with Cyril when he returned to Ireland by way of Christmas cards often illustrating a scene
from his trips to Connemara. They reunited when both were successful in their own careers in Dublin in the late 1960’s
but Cyril reminded me of those post-war years when we communicated between 2008 and 2011, ‘people were free
but no one could celebrate as rations were still in operation and money was scarce in London.’
(2)
Belfast writer Ge-
rard Keenan (1927-2015), a friend of Dillon, who attended Harding Street Christian Brothers School with Cyril Murray
remarked, ‘we, all of us, were short of money, but it never worried us. It is true that the best things in life are free and
we enjoyed only the best things, paintings, books, poetry, good cinema, Debussy and Ravel.’
(3)
In addition to working
in the building trade, Cyril, Gerard, and Paddy Kelly sold handbags in Soho in the West End of London and at Camden
and Portobello markets.
(4)
In the early 1960’s, Gerard’s experience selling handbags with Cyril inspired him during his
phase of ‘found objects.’ After finding old handbags Gerard boiled the leather, and when the leather became pliable,
he stretched it and cut it into desired shapes to create a work of art.
These five works by Gerard Dillon were purchased by Cyril when the artist returned to Ireland in 1968 to live with
Arthur Armstrong RHA (1926-1996) at 28 Chelmsford Avenue in Ranelagh. In 2008, discussing my project on Gerard
Dillon, Cyril enjoyed recounting stories about his youth in London and invited me to his Rathgar home see his Dillon
collection. In 2011, we discussed a wide range of subjects including his collages in his living room, ‘
Possessions
,’ and
‘
Circus Trio.
’ Cyril suggested the central theme of his late collages was his fear of mortality after the death of his three
brothers in the early 1960’s adding, ‘Gerry was always jovial when you met him socially, but when he was painting, or
doing his collages, he was serious. He was a seriously intelligent man and while humour dominated his Pierrot paint-
ings, they could also be serious.’
(5)
Living in Dublin, Gerard liked to keep in contact with his family in Belfast by way of letter. In one of his regular letters
to his nephew, he commented, ‘Cyril Murray is delighted I’m in Dublin + collected me to take me out to his house at
Dundrum. He has a lovely family of 7 kids…tho’ 3 of them are at UCD…isn’t that amazing to think I met him on a building
job in London with P. Kelly.’
(6)
Two years later, Cyril did not expect his friend to die from a massive stroke. Leaving Cyril’s
home, I thanked him for his help and as he turned to shut the door, he paused looking at me, ‘he [Gerard] died too
young you know, the best always do.’
(7)
Karen Reihill April, 2017
[1] Quoted by Cyril Murray in James White, Gerard Dillon, An Illustrated Biography’ Wolfound Press, 1994 p.50
[2] In conversation with Cyril Murray, 29 October 2008
[3] letter from Gerard Keenan 19 May, 2011
[4] Interview with Gerard Keenan, London, 27 May 2011
[5] Interview with Cyril Murray, 25 October 2011
[6] letter from Gerard Dillon to his nephew, Gerard Dillon, 13 May 1969
[7] Interview, 25th October, 2011