Adam's Important Irish Art September 26th 2018

Paintings from the Brian and Anne Friel Collection It was with no great surprise that I learned that the Anne and Brian Friel collection of paintings was being donated to the Peter McVerry Trust. I have known Brian and Anne for most of my life and I was acutely aware of their deep interest in social justice. Brian’s father, a schoolteacher here in Derry, was a councillor in the old Derry Corporation and I remember as a young girl reading his passionate words on the deplorable gerrymandering and the appalling homelessness problems of that time. No doubt this filtered through to the young Brian, who became an active member of the first Derry committee to help the travelling community in the 1960s. The conditions of great deprivation suffered, and the detrimental effects that homelessness had on people’s mental and physical health were highly evi- dent then, as they are now. The Peter McVerry Trust has been at the forefront of working to help homeless people for many years, and it is testament to Anne’s wonderful generosity that she is donating the art collection built up by herself and Brian over a lifetime to such a pressing cause. This is a wonderful opportunity for people to both acquire a piece of art and to contribute to the solution of one of our society’s most pressing problems. I wish the sale well! Pat Hume, August 2018