Drogheda, 1921

Thomas Markey worked as a carpenter for the Corporation of Drogheda and was a self-taught artist. His Drogheda, 1921 is obviously based on Ricciardelli’s View of Drogheda from Ball’s Grove, but it brings the view up-to-date by including political elements in the townscape. The ‘Black and Tans’ (the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force) feature in Markey’s painting. This was one of two paramilitary forces employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland by targeting Sinn Fein. Also depicted are military aeroplanes, noisily disturbing the classical idealistm of Ricciardelli’s scene.