The Painter's Guild in 1675. Jan de Bray's self-portrait is the second from the left, and his brother Dirck de Bray is standing upper right.

Jan de Bray (ca.1627 – April 4, 1697), was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

Biography[link]

"David and the Ark of the Covenant"

Jan de Bray was born in Haarlem. According to Houbraken he was the most famous pupil of his father, the architect and poet Salomon de Bray.^[1] Houbraken called Jan the "pearl in Haarlem's crown".^[1] Houbraken saw a painting by de Bray of David and the Return of the Ark of the Covenant in the collection of Arnold van Halen in Amsterdam, dated 1697, that he admired for its realistic flesh tones in the forms of David playing the harp and the Levites behind him. Houbraken also mentioned some black and red chalk drawings by him that he saw at the Amsterdam home of Isaak del Court.^[1]

He spent most of his career working in Haarlem, where he was for many years dean of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke.^[2] His brother Dirck de Bray was a flower painter who later became a monk in the monastery at Gaesdonck near Goch.^[1] His brother Joseph was also a painter,^[2] and his sister Cornelia married Jan Lievens. His mother was Anna Westerbaen, the sister of the painter Jan Westerbaen^[2] and the poet Jacob Westerbaen.

de Bray lost his father and two siblings to the plague. His wives - Maria van Hees (married 21 October 1688 ^[3]), Margaretha de Meyer (married 1672 ^[4]), and Victoria Stalpert van der Wielen (married 30 January 1678 ^[3]) - each died; Victoria shortly after giving birth to their son, Johan Lucas. In 1689 he was declared bankrupt as a Haarlem citizen and moved to Amsterdam, where he died. He was buried in Haarlem.^[2]

Works[link]

Jan de Bray was influenced by his father, Bartholomeus van der Helst, and Frans Hals. De Bray's works are mainly portraits, often of groups. He specialised in posing specific figures as historical figures, thus achieving paintings that encompassed the genres of portrait and history painting. The French term for these, "portrait historié" (literally "historicised portrait") is also used in English, sometimes without the accent. Among his finest works are two versions of the Banquet of Cleopatra, using his own family, including himself, as models (Royal Collection, 1652, and Currier Museum of Art, New Hampshire, 1669). The second version has great pathos, as most of those depicted had died in the plague of 1663-4.^[5]

As a key figure in Dutch Classicalism of the seventeenth century, De Bray, like his contemporaries, drew inspiration from the same ancient writers and sources as the Italian artists of the fifteenth century. Working in the classical tradition, these artists emphasised harmony, proportion and balance in their compositions in order to present an idealised beauty.

De Bray and his wife as Ulysses and Penelope, 1668

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jan de Bray

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jan de Bray on Artnet
• Works and literature on PubHist
• Murray, P. & L. (1996). Dictionary of art and artists (p. 65). London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-051300-0. (For details see: Sources)
• Jan De Bray and the Classical Tradition at the National Gallery of Art, Washington - 16pp pdf exhibition brochure
• Entry for Jan de Bray in the RKD, the Netherlands Institute for Art History

Bray Bré
—  Town  —
The town as seen from Bray Head The town as seen from Bray Head
Coat of arms
Motto: Féile agus Fáilte  (Irish) "Hospitality and Welcome"
Bray Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°12′04″N 6°06′41″W / 53.20102°N 6.11136°W / 53.20102; -6.11136Coordinates: 53°12′04″N 6°06′41″W / 53.20102°N 6.11136°W / 53.20102; -6.11136
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Wicklow
Dáil Éireann	Wicklow
EU Parliament	East
Elevation	18 m (59 ft)
Population (2006)
• Urban	27,041
• Rural	4,860
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	O264185
Website	www.braytowncouncil.ie

Bray (Irish: Bré, formerly Brí Chualann) is a town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a busy urban centre and seaside resort, with a population of 31,901 making it the fourth largest in Ireland (excluding the five cities) as of the 2006 census.^[1] It is situated about 20 km (12 mi) south of Dublin on the east coast.

The town is the location of some industry, is home for many who commute to Dublin by car or rail, is a shopping town for the surrounding area and still attracts tourists particularly from Dublin at weekends. The town straddles the Dublin-Wicklow border, with a portion of the northern suburbs situated in County Dublin. Bray is home to Ireland's only dedicated film studios, Ardmore Studios where films such as Excalibur, Braveheart, and Breakfast on Pluto have been shot.

History[link]

In medieval times, Bray was on the border of the coastal district, governed directly by the English crown from Dublin Castle, known as the Pale. Inland, the countryside was under the control of Gaelic Chieftains, such as the O'Toole and O'Byrne clans. Bray features on the 1598 map "A Modern Depiction of Ireland, One of the British Isles" by Abraham Ortelius as "Brey". (It is worth noting the "O Byrne" name appearing prominently on the map). In August or September 1649 Oliver Cromwell is believed to have stayed in Bray on his way to Wexford from Dublin^{[citation needed]}. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Bray was still a small fishing village, but during the latter part of the 18th century, the Dublin middle classes began to move to Bray to escape city life, while still being relatively close to the city. The Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first in Ireland, opened in 1834 and was extended as far as Bray in 1854. With the railway, the town grew to become the largest Irish seaside resort. The outbreak of World War II put the industry 'on hold' for its duration. However, during the 1950s tourists from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland returned to Bray in great numbers to escape the austerity of post-war rationing. The town's career as a resort declined fromt the 1960s onwards when foreign travel became an option for large numbers of people. However, the town is still popular with visitors who come to enjoy the seafront with its bars and restaurants,the mile long beach and the scenic walks on Bray head.

During the mid-nineteenth century (five years after the building of the railway) Turkish baths were also built in Bray, these were built in an extravagant Moorish style at a cost of £10,000 and met an end after a turbulent century of business when the demolition squad arrived in 1980.^[2]

Geography[link]

The River Dargle enters the sea here, from a source near Kippure, in the Wicklow Mountains. Bray Head is the situated at the southern end of the promenade and a well-worn track leads to the summit. The rocks of Bray Head are a mixture of greywackes and quartzite. The coastal railway line continues south from Bray along the seaward slopes of Bray Head. At the summit of Bray Head is a large concrete cross, visible from the famous Victorian promenade, which is regularly walked by locals and visitors.

The town is situated on the coast; Shankill, County Dublin lies to the north, and Greystones, County Wicklow to the south. The picturesque village of Enniskerry lies to the west of the town, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains.

Local government[link]

Bray is governed by a town council, but before the Local Government Act 2001 it was an urban district. Part of the northern Bray area lies within the county of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, despite its seamless integration with the rest of the town. The border between County Wicklow and County Dublin lies along Old Conna / Corke Abbey, thereby making all areas north of that point Bray, County Dublin.

Bray is one of the few town councils to have twelve members in recognition of its size. Like Dundalk, Sligo and Drogheda, Bray also uses a ward system.

The area around the Southern Cross Road to the south of Bray is not included in the area governed by Bray Town Council, but by Wicklow County Council. The town itself is part of the Bray Local Electoral Area for elections to Wicklow County Council which elects 7 councillors.

Transport[link]

Bray Daly Railway Station.

A substantial public transport network, both north into Dublin and south into County Wicklow and County Wexford, serves the town. Bray is on the DART Rail Network which stretches north to Malahide and Howth and south to Greystones. The town is also on the mainline Iarnród Éireann Rail Network which connects north to Connolly Station in Dublin city centre and further to Drogheda and Dundalk. To the south, the rail line goes through Arklow, Gorey and Rosslare Europort. Bray's train station is named after Edward Daly, an executed leader of the 1916 Easter Rising. Bray Daly Station was opened on 10 July 1854.^[3]

Four bus companies pass through Bray; Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Finnegan's Bray and St. Kevin's Bus Service to Glendalough. Dublin Bus is by far the biggest operator with frequent services to and from Dublin City centre and many services within the greater Bray area. Dublin Bus also provides services to Dún Laoghaire, Enniskerry, Greystones, Kilmacanogue, Kilcoole and Newtownmountkennedy. Finnegan's Bray also offer a nightlink service from Dublin City Centre at 1am and 3am, 3 nights a week and bank holidays. .^[4]

The Aircoach service which provides transport to and from Dublin airport also operates two stops from The Ramada Hotel and Castle street beside the Superquinn shopping centre. Aircoach buses operate as frequent as half hourly from this stop at peak times and hourly outside peak and take about an hour to reach the airport depending upon conditions.

There are plans to extend the Luas light rail system to Fassaroe, an area of development on the town's western periphery. However, the exact connection between the Luas and the town centre railway station has yet to be decided. Until 1958, the old Harcourt Street railway line ran from Harcourt Street in Dublin to Bray, along much of the route of the new Luas.

Bray lies along the M11 motorway corridor; an interchange at its northern side links with the M50 Dublin bypass.

Tourism[link]

Bray is a long-established holiday resort with numerous hotels and guesthouses, shops, restaurants and evening entertainment. The town also plays host to a number of high-profile festival events.

Available in the vicinity are fifteen 18-hole golf courses, tennis, fishing, sailing and horse riding. Other features of Bray are the amusement arcades and games centre. Bray is known as the Gateway to Wicklow and is the longest established seaside town in the country. It has a safe beach of sand and shingle to walk on, which is over 1.6 km (0.99 mi) long, fronted by a spacious esplanade. Bray Head, which rises steeply (241 m (791 ft) above the sea, dominates the scene, affording views of mountains and sea. The concrete cross at the top of the head was erected in 1950 for the holy year. The name of the town means hill or rising ground, possibly referring to the gradual incline of the town from the Dargle bridge to Vevay Hill.

Bray is a popular base for walkers, ramblers and strollers. It is notable for its mile-long promenade which stretches from the harbour, with its colony of Mute Swans, to Bray Head at the southern end of the promenade – from where a well worn track leads to the summit. Also very popular with walkers is the 7 km (4.3 mi) Cliff Walk along Bray Head out to Greystones.

The annual Bray Summerfest is an established tourist event, taking place over six weeks in July and August. The Summerfest features over 100 free entertainment events, including live music, markets, sporting entertainment, carnivals, and family fun. Performers who have headlined include Mundy, Brian Kennedy, The Undertones, The Hothouse Flowers, and Mary Black. In 2006, over 60,000 visitors attended the main festival weekend in mid-July.

Bray also hosts one of the largest carnival and festival events to celebrate the annual St Patrick's holiday. The Bray St Patrick's Carnival & Parade is presented by Bray & District Chamber and is a five-day festival of carnival fun, parades, and live entertainment.

Bray hosts an annual international Bray Jazz Festival jazz festival on the May bank holiday weekend each year. Described by The Irish Times as 'the connoisseur's jazz festival', Bray Jazz Festival has established itself as one of the main events taking place each year on the Irish jazz calendar. Established in 2000, the festival includes performances by leading-name jazz and world music artists from Ireland and abroad.

In 2009 the event was described by All About Jazz as "one of the very best small jazz festivals in Europe".

2011 performers will include BBC jazz singer of the year Christine Tobin, three times Grammy Award nominated Brazilian player Hamilton de Holanda, and American jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel.

It also hosts a yearly silent film festival, The Killruddery Film Festival in Killruddery Gardens, this runs from 13 April to the 15 April 2012. It shows such films as La Roue and Camille.^[5]

In January 2010, Bray was named the "Cleanest town in Ireland" in the 2009 Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey of 60 towns and cities.^[6]

The Lonely Planet Guide ranked The Harbour Bar in Bray the Best Bar in the World and the Best Off the Beaten Track Bar in the world. The O'Toole family have owned the bar for three generations.^[7]

There are many pubs and restaurants in Bray (for example, The Martello^[8] or The Porterhouse, who are specialists at brewing their own ales, stouts and beers^[9]) and restaurants such as the Italian Campo de Fiori^[10] and Shelbys Brasserie.^[11]

Custer's Last Stand-up was filmed in Bray^[12] and the town is currently being used to film Neil Jordan's latest film Byzantium.part of which was shot in the Bray Head Inn. ^[13]

The Bray Head Inn ,, the hotel of choice for the victorians ,cica 1860 , a coach and horses would leave the Shelbourne Hotel at 12 noon and arrive 1.30pm , the hotel has been used for a variety of movies over the last 25 years ,

Education[link]

Primary Schools

• St. Kieran's N S for Travelling Children
• St. Fergal's Junior and Senior School
• St. Peter's NS
• St. Philomena's NS^[14]
• Saint Cronan's Boys' National School ^[15]
• St. Andrew's NS^[14]
• Gaelscoil Uí Cheadaigh^[14]
• Scoil Chualann^[14]
• Bray School Project NS^[14]
• St. Patrick's NS^[14]

Secondary Schools

• St Kilians CS^[16]
• Coláiste Ráithín^[17]
• St Thomas CS^[18]
• St Brendans^[19]
• Presentation Brothers^[20]
• Loreto^[21]

People[link]

Swans where the Dargle flows into the harbour.

From Bray:

• Eva Birthistle, actress
• Reggie Corrigan, former Ireland and Leinster Rugby Captain
• Seamus Costello, Irish Republican
• Fergal Devitt, professional wrestler
• Eddie Jordan, founder of Jordan Formula One racing team.
• Ed Joyce, Middlesex and England cricket star grew up in Bray and began his cricket career on the pitches at Aravon school.
• Tristan MacManus, professional ballroom dancer, and cast member of Dancing With The Stars
• Paul McNaughton, Ireland rugby team manager
• Dara Ó Briain, comedian
• Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, former Attorney General, Chief Justice, and President of Ireland (1974–1976)
• Joshua Pim, tennis player.
• Darren Randolph, professional soccer player
• Fionn Regan, Mercury Prize-nominated folk singer
• Katie Taylor, champion boxer
• David Wheatley, poet and critic
• Laura Whitmore, MTV presenter

Lived in Bray:

• Isaac Weld, famous explorer and author lived in Ravenswell, Bray from 1813 to 1856.
• Chief Justice of Ireland, Thomas Langlois Lefroy, spent the last three years of his life (from 1866 to 1869) in Newcourt, Bray.^[22]
• James Joyce lived in One Martello Terrace, Bray (a house that is now the home of Labour Party TD, Liz McManus) for part of his childhood, from 1887 to 1891. The house next door, Two Martello Terrace, also had its share of well-known residents, including singer Mary Coughlan, composer Roger Doyle and film director and author Neil Jordan and his then partner Beverly D'Angelo.
• Charles Barrington was the first man to reach the summit of the Eiger in 1853.^[23][24]

• During the 1980s U2 star Bono owned the Martello Tower after which the terrace is named.^[25]
• The late comedy star Dave Allen lived in the town for a time, as did the RTÉ News journalist Charlie Bird.
• Oscar Wilde, Victorian poet, playwright and author, owned property on the Esplanade Terrace and is thought to have lived there for a time.
• Other well-known residents of the town include singer Sinéad O'Connor, wildlife filmmaker Éamon de Buitléar,^[26] broadcaster Brian Farrell, music writer and singer Phil Coulter, musical star Colm Wilkinson and novelist Anne Enright (winner of the 2007 Booker prize).

International relations[link]

Bray has town twinning agreements with:

• Bègles, France.
• Würzburg, Germany.
• Dublin, California.

See also[link]

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland
• History of rail transport in Ireland
• Christ Church, Bray
• The Vicar of Bray
• Bray Jazz Festival

Gallery[link]

• 

  Bray from Bray Head

• Braydart.JPG

  Bray Daly Station

• Stpatricksdatbray.JPG

  St. Patrick's Day 2008

• 

  Bray Head Summit

• Parking lot at Presentation College, Bray, Ireland.jpg

  Pres Bray

• 

  Bray from Bray Head

• 

  St Cronan's BNS

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bray

• Bray Town Council
• Bray Tourism
• Bray at Wicklow County Tourism
• Bray People newspaper
• Bray Jazz Festival
• Bray Summerfest
• Bray in Lewis Topographical Dictionary of Ireland 1837
• Current weather and forecasts for Bray
• Bray Cancer Support Centre

v t e Places in County Wicklow County town: Wicklow Towns Arklow Bray Greystones Wicklow Unincorporated Towns Aughrim Avoca Baltinglass Blessington Carnew Dunlavin Enniskerry Newtownmountkennedy Rathdrum Rathnew Tinahely Villages Aghavannagh Annamoe Ashford Ballinaclash Charlesland Coolafancy Coolboy Delgany Donard Glendalough Glenealy Grangecon Greenan Hollywood Kilcoole Killincarrig Kilmacanogue Kilpedder Kilquade Kiltegan Knockananna Lacken Laragh Newcastle Rathdangan Redcross Roundwood Shillelagh Stratford-on-Slaney Valleymount Woodenbridge Townlands Ballinakil Ballyronan Butterhill Hempstown List of townlands in County Wicklow Category:Mountains and hills of County Wicklow Category:Rivers of County Wicklow Category:Geography of County Wicklow

Sarah Patricia Connolly CBE (born 13 June 1963,^[1] County Durham) is an English mezzo-soprano.

Sarah Connolly was educated at Queen Margaret's School, York and then studied piano and singing at the Royal College of Music, of which she is now a Fellow. She then became a member of the BBC Singers for 5 years.^[2][3]

Sarah Connolly's interest in opera and a full-time career in classical music began after she left the BBC Singers. She began her opera career in the role of Annina (Der Rosenkavalier) in 1994.^[4] Her breakthrough role was as Xerxes in the 1998 English National Opera production of Handel's Serse (Xerxes), directed by Nicholas Hytner.In 2005 she sang Giulio Cesare by Handel for Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The DVD of the production, directed by David McVicar won a Gramophone Award.^[2][5] Her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden was in March 2009, as Dido in Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.^[6]