Diarmuid O'Ceallacháin facts for kids
Diarmuid O'Ceallachain (born 1915, died 1993) was an Irish artist who painted amazing landscapes and pictures of people. He won several important awards, like the Taylor Prize and a special medal called the Prix Thorlet from the Academie Francaise in France. He also taught painting at the Crawford School of Art and Design in Cork city for 30 years, from 1940 to 1970.
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Diarmuid O'Ceallachain's Early Life
Diarmuid O'Ceallachain was born on October 31, 1915, near Drimoleague in County Cork, Ireland. He grew up in Cork City and went to the North Monastery Secondary School.
When he was 15, he started working as a draper's apprentice, which meant he helped sell cloth and clothing. At the same time, he took evening classes to learn painting and drawing at the Crawford School of Art. In 1937, he decided to study art full-time.
In 1938, he won the Taylor Scholarship from the Royal Dublin Society. This award helped him study at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. His teachers there included famous artists like Maurice MacGonigal and Séan Keating. The next year, in 1939, he won the Taylor Prize again. His painting "No Peace on Earth" was inspired by the start of World War II and the bombing of London.
His Career as an Artist and Teacher
When Diarmuid returned to Cork in 1940, he became a full-time painting teacher at the Crawford School of Art. He loved this job and stayed there until he retired in 1970.
In 1943, he married Joan O'Sullivan. She became a very important person in his art, often posing for his portraits and for the female figures in his other paintings.
Diarmuid was very interested in painting landscapes and also in the Irish language. This led him to travel to the west of Ireland. As a student, he went to summer art schools there. Later, he returned and stayed with the writer Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. During this time, he practiced his Irish language skills and painted outdoors, developing his unique style and use of colors.
He showed many of his paintings at the Royal Hibernian Academy between 1938 and 1961. He also had an exhibition in Dublin in 1948 and regularly showed his work at the Munster Fine Art Exhibition. In 1958, he received a special diploma and medal, the Prix Thorlet, from the Academie Francaise in Paris for his drawings.
Diarmuid traveled a lot and painted in many different countries. In the 1950s, he explored Spain with his friend Cecil Galbally. In 1962, he visited New York and the Art Students League of New York. He also worked in France, Germany, Greece, and the Middle East. In 1977, RTÉ, the Irish national broadcaster, made a TV program about his art, where he was interviewed in Irish.
A big exhibition of his paintings from 1937 to 1990 was held in 1991 at the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery in Cork. The exhibition showed how his painting styles changed over time, reflecting his life, interests, and surroundings.
Diarmuid O'Ceallachain's Lasting Impact
After Diarmuid O'Ceallachain passed away on April 20, 1993, exhibitions of his work were held in Sligo and Tralee in 1994. His paintings are now found in many private and company collections in Ireland, the UK, and the USA. The Crawford Municipal Art Gallery has six of his paintings in its permanent collection.
One of his paintings, "The Fiddler," has even inspired music! Two musical pieces, "Serendipity" by Philip Martin and "Colourvision" by John Gibson, were created because of it. A poem with the same title by Aidan Murphy was also inspired by the painting.
In 1996, a special art auction called "Important Irish Art" featured his work. The auction described him as "Cork's finest Twentieth Century painter." His art has also been sold at other well-known auction houses like De Veres, Whytes, and Sothebys.
His daughter, Noel O'Callaghan, is also an artist. In 2018, they had a joint exhibition of their paintings at the Uillinn Centre in Skibbereen, showing the artistic talent that runs in the family.
Where to See His Work
