Peter Pan in Clay Copyright D Byron-O'Connor 2000

Diarmuid Byron O'Connor (born 7 December 1964) is a British artist, best known for his

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

. He attended

the John Fisher School The John Fisher School is a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided boys' faith school based at Peaks Hill, Purley, Croydon, Surrey, England. The school is located in and funded by the London Borough of Sutton. It occupies the former site of the 19th- ...

in Purley, with presenter Matthew Wright. In 1984, he started at art college in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. In 1986 he joined "Changing Places", a community and environmental arts project, as a stone carver – leaving in 1988. In 1991 he studied conceptual fine art at

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

, London. Starting a decorating firm, Byron-O'Connor worked evenings sculpting with wax at home. He was commissioned to create a statue of

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

to stand outside

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospit ...

which was given the rights to the character by creator

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

. Following the unveiling of this work and an exhibition of small bronzes in 2000, he built a studio for private commissions. In 2005 he added a scale statue of

Tinker Bell Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play '' Peter Pan'' and its 1911 novelisation ''Peter and Wendy''. She has appeared in a variety of film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 ...

to the one of Peter Pan, unveiled by

The Countess of Wessex Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest sibling of King Charles III. Sophie grew up in Brenchle ...

. Byron-O'Connor's research into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

led to him designing sets for BBC2's ''The Trench'';

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's '' The Somme - From Defeat to Victory''; and the Discovery Channel's ''Mud, Blood, and Tarmac''. Whilst working on the set for

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's ''The Crafty Tricks of War'' he was asked to co present the series with

Dick Strawbridge Lieutenant Colonel Richard Francis Strawbridge, MBE (born 3 September 1959) is a British television personality, engineer and former army officer. He is often referred to as "Colonel Dick". Early life The third of seven children of Jennife ...

. He subsequently made ''Geronimo'' with

Fearne Cotton Fearne Wood ( Cotton; born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author''.'' She began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children's television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. In 2007, she presented '' The Xtra Factor'', a ...

for BBC1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Diarmuid Byron British art directors British sculptors British male sculptors Fantasy artists Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts 1964 births Living people