Mick O'Dea + Geraldine O'Neill;
The Sunset Belongs to You

Sat. 15 Dec. 2025 – Sat. 28 Feb. 2026

The Model is delighted to present once more The Sunset Belongs to You – a series of portraits commissioned from two of Irelands most distinguished painters, Mick O’Dea + Geraldine O’Neill. The portraits capture young people from diverse backgrounds living across County Sligo, and were painted between 2022-23. Looked at together, they provide a hopeful glimpse into the Ireland of the future.

The portraits have become part of The Niland Collection, where they have taken on a meaningful presence alongside portraits of historic public figures, activists, artists and other changemakers. In this context, the paintings demonstrate the importance, equality and potential of each child to lead the way with confidence and vision towards a bright democratic future for Ireland. In commissioning the portraits, The Model sought to challenge the ingrained traditional structures of portraiture to question who is reflected in a public art collection, and who is overlooked. Sligo communities who have been under-represented in the past, are made visible within the public collection of their local museum.

Mick O’Dea painted all 12 of his portraits over the course of one week in front of a live audience at The Model. During the sittings he engaged the children and the public in an open dialogue about the ideas that underpin portraiture. Taking a different approach, Geraldine O’Neill painted each of her sitters over several months, finalising a portrait through a slow and immersive engagement with each child and their family.

The Sunset Belongs to You is named after a painting by Jack Butler Yeats. It is an inclusive reflection of contemporary society, in all its diversity and richness that will live on in Sligo’s municipal art collection as a historical document into the future.