My name is Greer Mac Keogh. I am an artist and researcher from Dublin.
I have been visiting Boyle for nearly six years now, becoming increasingly more obsessed by the Royal Hotel. This project has evolved over time in response to the people I’ve met and the changes I’ve witnessed in Boyle. Initially, the project was driven by my curiosity about Boyle’s architecture. I spent time in Boyle exploring the social narrative behind buildings in the town.
It became clear early on, that all of my conversations were leading back to the Royal Hotel.
For me, this project is a collaboration between myself as the ‘guest’ and the Boyle community as ‘host’.
The artworks produced for In These Rooms exhibition in the Royal, are made up of stories and images shared by the community, and of my own experiences in Boyle. It is about sharing experiences of hospitality, in a time when many rural hotels across Ireland have closed or been repurposed.
Since 2016 I have been working on a practice-based PhD at UAL Chelsea College of Art, interrupted by two young children Lenny and Cal and one pandemic. My research is part of the Techne Doctoral Programme funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The refurbishment of the old Royal Hotel site in Boyle was formally signed in the Roscommon County Council Offices in December 2020.
The refurbishment, which is funded by the Rural Regeneration Development Fund (RRDF) from the Department of Rural and Community Development and Roscommon County Council, commenced in May 2021 and is expected to be complete in Summer 2022. The refurbishment will involve the redevelopment of the old Royal Hotel site into a landing space for start-up businesses and exhibition space. It will also include the development of a promenade along the Boyle river and a civic space which will completely transform this riverside location in the heart of the town.
In These Rooms exhibition, which coincides with the reopening of the Royal Hotel site, has been commissioned by Roscommon County Council under the Creative Ireland Programme 2021-2022. The research and development for this project has been kindly supported by Arts Councils Engaging with Architecture scheme (2016) and the Artist in the Community fund (2018) overseen by Create. Support from local organisations, businesses and individuals has also been of great value, such as the Boyle Town Team, Spool Factory and Boles of Boyle.
