Murphy, Róisín Dowd
Róisín Dowd Murphy (1923-2006) was born in Belfast and studied painting at Dublin’s National College of Art and Design where she met her future husband, Johnny Murphy. In 1955 Johnny joined forces with master glazier Des Devitt – both had worked at Harry Clarke’s studio – to establish Murphy-Devitt Studios, Dublin, and soon Róisín began work in the studio too, acquiring the requisite skills from her husband. Their daughter, Reiltín Murphy, summed up her mother’s windows as being ‘full of colour and movement, vigour and life. Róisín loved the Renaissance artists, such as Michelangelo and Botticelli… her windows give a moment in time: her saints are real people with busy lives, her images are “snapshots” rather than “icons”. Róisín was never happier than when she was covered in charcoal while drawing a full-size cartoon, or, covered with pigment, painting those figures and details into glass.’ (quoted in the Gazetteer of Irish Stained Glass, see below).
Murphy-Devitt Studios enjoyed considerable success, particularly in the decades of peak Catholic church construction in Ireland, but closed in 1980 due to fewer churches being built, however Johnny and Róisín, and Des Devitt too, continued to work together until 2005 after the Murphy family had relocated to County Wexford. Johnny Murphy, Róisín Dowd Murphy and Des Devitt all died in 2006.
Source: David Caron (ed) Gazetteer of Irish Stained Glass (Irish Academic Press, 2021)
