Sheelagh Flanagan facts for kids

Sheelagh Flanagan (born December 25, 1925 – died May 3, 2018) was a talented woman from Northern Ireland. She was many things: an actress, someone who designed clothes for plays, an agent for artists, a gallery owner, and someone who worked for peace.

Sheelagh Flanagan's Early Life

Sheelagh Mabel Garvan was born in Belfast on Christmas Day in 1925. Her father owned a shop in the area. She left school when she was fourteen years old.

After leaving school, Sheelagh joined the civil service. This is a government department that helps run the country. She later became a private secretary to Northern Ireland's Attorney General. This person is the main legal advisor to the government.

Sheelagh was very interested in performing arts, like plays and theatre. This led her to join the Arts Theatre in Belfast. She then met Mary O'Malley, a theatre director, and joined the Lyric Players. Here, she met her future husband, Terence Flanagan, who designed sets for plays.

In 1959, Sheelagh Garvan married the artist Terence Flanagan. Sheelagh came from a family with strong Unionist beliefs. However, she became a Roman Catholic when she got married.

Sheelagh Flanagan's Career

Sheelagh Flanagan was a very skilled dressmaker from a young age. She even turned down a scholarship to study dressmaking in London. After she married, she started helping with sets and costumes at the Lyric Theatre.

Her early career was also shaped by her neighbours, John and Ruby Hewitt. They lived near her in Belfast. Sheelagh was influenced by their simple lifestyle and their ideas about fairness for everyone.

Designing Costumes and Helping the Community

Sheelagh stopped acting in the early 1960s because she needed to focus on her family. But she never lost her interest in theatre. In 1973, she returned to the theatre world. She designed costumes for a group called Interplay. This company brought educational plays into schools and communities.

In 1969, Sheelagh organized an art exhibition. This event raised money for people affected by conflicts in Belfast. Many artists donated their work, including her husband, Gerard Dillon, and William Scott.

In 1974, she became the office administrator for Peace Point. This was a community group started by the Peace People and the Corrymeela Community. Peace Point created educational programs. These programs aimed to break down divisions between different groups in Northern Ireland. They also worked to bring together many peace groups. In 1979, Sheelagh helped start the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust and became a trustee.

Running an Art Gallery

In 1971, Sheelagh Flanagan opened her own art gallery called the Shambles Gallery. It was located in Hillsborough, County Down. Her husband, Patric Stevenson, and Robert Wilson helped run the gallery.

The first exhibition at the Shambles Gallery showed works by famous artists. These included F E McWilliam, William Scott, and Gerard Dillon. Sheelagh became a strong supporter of her husband's art. She also worked as an agent for other artists from Ulster, like F E McWilliam.

The gallery had to close in 1973 because of civil unrest, which means problems and fighting in the community. It reopened in 1985. In 1978, a bronze sculpture of Sheelagh Flanagan by F E McWilliam was shown at the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts.

In the mid-1980s, Sheelagh also became an agent for the sculptor Deborah Brown. Deborah Brown's animal sculptures were first shown at Sheelagh's Shambles Gallery in 1989.

Connections in the Arts

In 1982, Sheelagh Flanagan joined the board of the Irish National Ballet. She was good friends with many writers, actors, and artists from Ulster in the 1950s and 1960s. These friends included John Hewitt, Seamus Heaney, and Jimmy Ellis.

In 1987, Sheelagh held a special exhibition called A Poet's Pictures. This show honored John Hewitt and featured pictures he and his wife had collected. The exhibition catalogue included tributes from other artists and poets.

Death and Legacy

Sheelagh Flanagan passed away in Belfast on May 3, 2018. She had three children. Her husband had passed away seven years before her.