Sadhbh O’Neill lives with her husband and fellow artist Sam Gaine, for the past 25 years, in the sanctuary they have created in Mountshannon.
Sadhbh studied textile design at NCAD Dublin and later graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from Manchester Polytechnic and won the Kilkenny Design Scholarship for emerging artists three years in a row.
Sadhbh has had a long, varied, and successful career. In the early years, she established her own textile company that was based in London & New York. Returning to Ireland, she was a lecturer at NCAD, Dublin, the Dun Laoghaire School of Art, Dublin, and St. Catherines College, Trinity Dublin. She has been an Artist in Residence in many National Schools throughout the country, including Barnardos in Dublin and Limerick and the Central Remedial Clinic in Dublin.
Sadhbh has exhibited in several group and solo shows during her career and has artwork in both private and public collections.
Her passion is for public art, and she has completed many public commissions around the country, including commissions for DunLaoghaire Town Hall, Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre, Clarecastle Nationa School, Carlo Tourist Office, and Killarney Nationa Park Centre,
Sadhbh's move to Mountshannon in 1998, marked a new beginning in her career as an artist. Renovating their cottage, she learned many new skills, including how to use lime plaster. This skill she developed into the making of sculptures. Her background in textile design embellished her sculptures in rich mosaics. From this, a whole new world of creativity opened up to her.
She now creates her sculptures full-time from her home.
Sadhbh describes her work;
"Beauty and joy are at the heart of my work. They are the emotions that inspire me to create. My sculptures call to me from my intuition, often from a dream, almost as if I have no say in their manifestation. My sculptures are a juxtaposition of contrasting media, textures, patterns, and colours. My mosaic work takes time and is meditative and slow – each tile is chosen, cut, and then placed, creating patterns of depth and richness.
Every sculpture I create is a story that arises as part of my lived experience, filtered through my fantasy and imagination. Thus, every sculpture carries a part of me. My work reflects the importance of being in the moment - feeling, experiencing, and being aware of the “here and now.
The Mermaids Garden is a collection of three mermaids and one merman. I have been swimming in the lake every day for many years, and it has become an anchor in my life. The lake and all its stories, folklore, and dreams have become an integral part of me. The mermaids evolved from stories and events in my life"
