MTU Crawford College of Art and Design. 46 Grand Parade, Cork

‘A Cloak of Women’ pays tribute to women’s labour. It recognises the daily contributions of women and honours the shared value of their work.

As part of my Master’s in Arts & Engagement, I worked with 57 women, 52 from the Sister Sheds in Raheny, Walkinstown, and Navan on a collaborative project titled A Cloak of Women. Together, we created a large-scale textile artwork using domestic objects and materials once used by women for housework and daily chores now transformed into vessels of storytelling and creative expression. Many of these objects were deeply personal, connected to the lives of the women they sought to honour, becoming part of their story in both memory and material. Each woman contributed a unique fabric piece, and these were joined to form a cloak that honours Brigid, Ireland’s first female saint and goddess to be recognised with a public holiday. The project placed women’s lives, voices, and shared experiences at its heart, paying tribute not only to the labour of making but to the conversations woven throughout—conversations that celebrated identity, intergenerational connection, and the shared experience of womanhood. Above all, it stands in honour of the generations of women who endured hardship and subjugation under church and state, yet did their best, and held our hands, quietly, steadfastly, every step of the way.

A Cloak of Women was exhibited in the MTU Gallery at 46 Grand Parade, Crawford, Cork in June 2024.