Sarah Gallacher

Some years ago we had the pleasure of hosting an exhibition of the tapestries made by Sarah Gallacher in the course of her long life.   With few exceptions, the tapestries on display were presented by Sarah to her children and grandchildren on family occasions such as weddings, births and christenings, family anniversaries.   Although now scattered over the face of the earth, the family kindly loaned them to us for the purposes of our exhibition.   They filled the walls of our parish hall.   They are now safely back where they belong as cherished souvenirs, not only of a talented artist, but of a loving mother and grandmother.

However, she also donated several of her works of art to her home parish, St Augustine’s, and these enjoy a place of honour in the Presbytery.   One, in particular, with which I have chosen to introduce this homage to a fine artist, was the result of a personal request from myself.   I asked her to produce her own version of the Crown of Thorns by Alfred Manessier (1911-1993).  I was not disappointed at the outcome.  When she had finished her version I noticed that she had departed from the original by adding two little red marks which, although small, are quite conspicuous.   When I asked about them, she told me:  Those are the tears I shed when I was working on this tapestry.

I know that Sarah’s tears have brought great joy to her extended family and I hope this little selection of her tapestries will do the same for many others.