The present work is an especially fine example by Erskine Nicol and one of the most impressive paintings by the artist to appear in recent years. It emerges from a long held private collects ion and is making its first public appearance in over a century.

Nicol depicts a riotous affair at a ‘shebeen’ - an illegal drinking house - at Donnybrook. In the centre, a couple dance joyfully. Leaning against the cottage wall, a piper plays; well-refreshed looking men are gathered around a table behind, while above them a group of figures beckon their friends who are seen appearing up the path in the distance. As with Nicol’s best work, the attention to detail is exceptional, especially the clothes and the various jugs, cloths and trinkets about the figures.

Donnybrook, south of Dublin, was one of Ireland’s most notorious fairs, attracting farmers all over Ireland to buy and sell livestock. It lasted up to two weeks, with drinking booths, carousels and popular entertainments taking place around it. It became a subject for numerous artists in the 18th and 19th centuries, such as George Du Noyer, William Brocas, Samuel Watson and William Sadler (see lot 223 in the present sale). Nicol himself painted variations on the theme on more than one occasion, including his magnificent panorama, Donnybrook Fair, 1859 (Tate collects ion, London) and another also titled A Shebeen at Donnybrook, an interior scene depicting revellers (sold Adam’s, Dublin, 15 September 2013, lot 11 for €100,000). Indeed, it it is uncertain as to whether it was that picture or the present work which was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh in 1852.

Erskine Nicol was born in Scotland but produced some of his most celebrated works in Ireland. Of his exhibits at the Royal Scottish Academy, over ninety were Irish subjects. He first visited in 1846 and remained there until 1851, during which t.mes he witnessed the devastating effects of the potato famine. He was and is today best celebrated for his genre work - showing a remarkable eye for detail and craftsmanship. The paintings he produced are significant records of 19th century Ireland at a t.mes when few artists were working there.