This site celebrates the life and work of sculptor John
Cassidy (1860 - 1939).
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19 March 2013: The future of 'Adrift' - the plans for St Peter's Square
Cassidy Exhibition in Slane July 2013: Visit Slane, Co. Meath, during the weekend of 12, 13 and 14 July, 2013, when numerous events and activities await you. The John Cassidy Exhibition mounted by Slane History and Archaeology Society will be on view in the Conyngham Arms hotel which is situated in the centre of the village. Accommodation is available in this hotel at a reasonable tariff.
12 December 2012: Cassidy in print! Our essay about John Cassidy and his Manchester patrons has now been published in the Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, as part of a theme issue on Manchester Architecture. We believe this is the first-ever detailed publication about his life and works.
Copies are on sale in the gift shop within the John Rylands Library Deansgate, Manchester.
28 October 2012: New feature: The Walkers of Woodheys Grange. The story of a Cassidy patron.
30 September 2012: James Joule feature updated with new pictures and more about Joule's houses.
History:
Visits in 2009: 5769
Visits in 2010: 10271
Visits in 2011: 7831
Visits in 2012: 8711
John Cassidy, by Reginald Barber (1900). Courtesy of Manchester Art Gallery
This site developed from Charlie's interest in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, and its statues. He created a small online exhibition there about John Cassidy, which led to contacts with Cassidy admirers in Scotland and Ireland, and in turn to the creation of this larger tribute. We are not professional historians; if you find inaccuracies here, please let us know.
'Of all the sculptors mentioned
[in this book], John Cassidy is the most intriguing. A biography would
focus directly on the little-researched world of the provincial
sculptor. Given the range of his output - from statues and busts to war
memorials and architectural sculpture - it would appear that
versatility was one of the attributes needed by sculptors outside
London if they were to survive.' - Derek Brumhead and Terry Wyke. A walk round Manchester sculptures.
Walkround Books, 1990.
As you browse the features, you will find that we follow trains of thought and journeys inspired by Cassidy's work and the people he portrayed, as well as offering what biographical information we can discover, and illustrating and describing as many of his works as we can locate. We hope you find something of interest.
Special thanks to everyone who has helped with research and shown interest, especially Doug Cassidy, John Canner, John Doyle, Frances Lee Gargan, Sheila Crehan, Sheila Dewsbury, and all the archivists at the John Rylands Library.
(Then again, if you are looking for his modern namesake John
Cassidy, magician and balloon sculptor, you want www.johncassidy.com)