President of the Limerick Arts Society and former President of the Royal Hibernian Academy from 1982 to 1992, Tom Ryan is a most accomplished artist, whose work is included in public and private collections world wide. He is truly an artist of substance and has produced many very significant historical works, as well as important portraits of the great and good of Irish life. It is no surprise that he was recently conferred with the Freedom of the City of Limerick, an honour richly deserved.