Orlagh Meegan-Gallagher graduated from NCAD in 1987 and is a member of Visual Artists Ireland. After leaving college she worked in theatre and film for Shepperton Studios, England and The Sydney Opera House, Australia, and completed a post graduate in Art Education in 1995 at the University of London.  

She has exhibited her work in both Dublin and London, and her work is in private collections in Ireland, England, Portugal, France and New York, and in public collections with Airtricity and Carrickmacross Workhouse, where she worked as artist in residence for 5 years, and has created a body of work funded by Monaghan County Council and the International Fund for Ireland. In 2015 Orlagh presented a piece of her artwork to STING on his visit to Carrickmacross Workhouse.                   

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Orlagh works in paint, textiles and mixed media. Concept is a very important element in her practice, and her work is imbued with layers of meaning expressed through her use of theme, colour, and use of materials. Orlagh has also been heavily involved in community art projects, and believes strongly in sharing her passion for the arts through education.

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 “Over the last few years my work has taken me to the water’s edge, lakes, rivers and most often, to the sea. The ocean has become the focus of my work, particularly the place where the land meets the water…that transition from solid to liquid, from tangible to intangible from definite to unpredictable, fascinates me. I go to the places that I have a strong connection with, places my parents took us to as children, places I took my children to and now visit as adults together, places I have always gone to for peace and headspace, places that remind me both of joy and of loss. Each place has its memories and moods. I go in the quiet times; the rainy days, the cold Winter months, the evenings, in order to have these places to myself… to absorb the sounds and smells, to soak in the light and absorb the ever changing colours. I paint the mood, the atmosphere of these places, and imbue them with the tones of my own memories, and now the new memories my children are making as they travel, and send me back photos of their own encounters with water, as life ebbs and flows like the tide...”

-Orlagh

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For a period of 6 years, Orlagh has curated exhibitions for Carrickmacross Arts Festival and Carrickmacross Workhouse. Her focus is to make art accessible to everyone. In March 2020 Orlagh curated a group exhibition for International Women's Day featuring her own work with that of Pauline Bewick, Hattie Billingham, Dorothy Cross, Rita Duffy, Theresa Kelly, Alison Loredo, Anne Madden, Alice Maher, Hannah Martin, Orlagh Meegan-Gallagher, Janet Mullarney and Eilis O'Connell.

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Orlagh is currently Community Artist in Residence with us here in Íontas Arts Centre, Castleblayney, funded by Íontas in 2020 and now by Creative Ireland for 2021 onwards, and is working with nursing homes using reminiscing, sound, video and art activities on the theme of the sea, rivers and lakes to create collaborative community art events.

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We are so proud of Everything Orlagh has done over the past 4 years, and we are delighted to have this exhibition as the perfect finish to her dynamic and wide ranging residency here with us.

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Insta: orlaghmeegangallagher                        orlaghmeegangallagherartist.com