Conor Fallon (30 January 1939 – 3 October 2007) was a leading Irish sculptor.

Life

Conor Hubert Fallon was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Padraic Fallon Padraic Fallon (3 January 1905 – 9 October 1974) was an Irish poet and playwright. Personal life Fallon was born and raised in Athenry, County Galway; his upbringing and his early impressions of the town and the surrounding landscape are ...

the Irish poet and playwright and Dorothea Maher. The family moved to Clonard,

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

where Fallon grew up. He had three surviving brothers, Brian, Ivan and Padraic who have all had journalism careers, though he was the third of six sons. Fallon was educated in St. Peter's College, Wexford. Fallon began painting in 1957 in

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

where he was studying natural science however there he was advised to pay more attention to his art. As a compromise with his father who didn't see his talent he also studied accountancy at night. Friends with Tony O'Malley Fallon spent time in

St Ives, Cornwall St Ives (, meaning "Ia of Cornwall, St Ia's cove") is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times, it was comm ...

where he met his wife Nancy Wynne-Jones. Fallon married Wynne-Jones in 1966. They adopted 2 children in 1970, siblings John and Bridget, and moved to

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...

in 1972. In 1987 the family moved again to

Rathdrum, County Wicklow Rathdrum () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated high on the western side of the Avonmore River valley, which flows through the Vale of Clara. The village is in a townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of the s ...

. Fallon died of cancer in 2007 a year after his wife.

Career

Fallon initially studied painting under Richard Kingston but was encouraged to take up sculpture. Denis Mitchell became his mentor in Cornwall and with Breon O'Casey he developed his sculpting. He became notable for this cast steel and bronze work, especially birds, horses and hares. He was a regular exhibitor in the

Taylor Galleries Taylor Galleries is a contemporary commercial art gallery in Dublin, Ireland. History Taylor Galleries opened in July 1978 ostensibly as a continuation of the Dawson Gallery – a gallery established by Leo Smith in 1944. John Taylor – wh ...

. In 1980 Fallon was awarded the Oireachtas gold medal for sculpture. He became an honorary associate of the

National College of Art and Design The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of t ...

in 1993. He was secretary of the

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the Royal Irish Academy, the academy retained the word "Royal" after mo ...

, becoming a full member in 1989, and on the board of the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

. Fallon was also a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...

Life

Career

See also

References

Further reading