I love the serendipity of the world and the way seemingly unconnected things can open up a whole era of memory and appreciation. That was my feeling when I came upon an art book from the prestigious publishers Chambridge Scholars featuring the etchings of Waterford born Gerhardt Gallagher and his grandmother Margaret the Gerhardt, who grew up in the Eastern bloc of Germany.
Connections- Verbindungen written by Gallagher, Gisela Holfter and Micheal O’hAodha traces not just Irish German connections and a shared history but presents the etchings of Margarethe brought to Parnell St by her daughter, Lisa, mother of Gerhardt Gallagher. Lisa married a dentist Roland Gallagher, a man feared for his profession rather than anything else. Both Roland and Lisa were very involved in the music, art and cultural life of this city. I remember Lisa as a campaigning voice in the Waterford Arts Advisory Committee before the City Council merged it into the sort of Arts Service we have in the Waterford Arts Plan.
