Michael Healy – Stained Glass Pioneer of Ireland

Michael Healy (1873–1941) was raised in a Dublin tenement and through a combination of innate talent, hard work and lucky breaks he pulled himself out of grinding poverty. Ahead of Harry Clarke, Wilhelmina Geddes and Evie Hone, he established the bar for artistic and technical excellence in the exacting craft of stained glass and worked at the world-renowned An Túr Gloine (Tower of Glass) studio for almost four decades.

This talk will explore the highlights of Healy’s stained glass career – windows that convey everything from austere majesty to tender humanity, often revelling in beguiling narrative detail.

Dr David Caron’s PhD research at Trinity College Dublin focused on Michael Healy and the stained glass artists of An Túr Gloine. He was one of the three original compilers of the Gazetteer of Irish stained glass in 1988, and was editor and principal author of the revised and expanded edition in 2021. His book, Michael Healy, 1873-1941: An Túr Gloine’s stained glass pioneer, was published in 2023 and his latest book, Dublin’s stained glass, will be published this autumn. David regularly contributes articles on stained glass to the Irish Arts Review.

The Zoom event is on Wednesday 19 November at 7pm GMT. Members pay only £4.25 (£5.00 full price). Join us for what will be a fascinating talk by a leading expert on Irish stained glass.