Athenry artist Donnacha Cahill is known for his unusual bronze and metal sculptures, with his pieces having been commissioned for public spaces in Galway and further afield. He’s now been invited to exhibit at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show where he will present a selection from his Curious Hare series as well as newer work depicting wild goats from the Sliabh Aughty area. He tells BERNIE Ní FHLATHARTA about the long road to Chelsea, via Hampton Court Palace where he became known as the ‘ naughty boy’.

The Irish have left their mark on the Chelsea Flower Show over the years, with Diarmuid Gavin and Mary Reynolds among the list of gold medallists at one of the world’s most prestigious gardening shows.

Gavin, now a regular television presenter is a huge fan of installations – remember his sky garden –  and Reynolds, who, in 2002, became one of the youngest winners, brought Celtic arches and stone walls into her show gardens, as she did when she designed Brigit’s Garden, outside Moycullen.

This year, Athenry man, Donnacha Cahill hopes to charm punters and, even more importantly, impress the tough panel of judges with his steel and bronze sculptures of hares and goats.

The sculptor has been working steadily at his craft since graduating from art college but for the past few years, he’s been focusing on getting invited to Chelsea.

Having researched how to go about it Donnacha did exactly as he was told. That included exhibiting at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show last year as it’s a requirement that an exhibitor has previously won at a recognised event.

He won three gold stars there and had expected to wait at least another year or two before getting the nod from Chelsea but, as luck would have it, someone else pulled out of this year’s event, giving Donnacha the slot.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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