Accenture Women on Walls for UCC

I unveiled my group portrait on 27 November as part of Accenture’s Women on Walls project at University College Cork. The campaign seeks to make women leaders visible through a series of commissioned portraits, bringing women’s stories into permanent public view.

 

The title Women of the South grew out of my long relationship with Seán Keating’s Men of the South. I used to bring my children to the Crawford Art Gallery and sit with that painting while breastfeeding — just to find a bit of calm. One day, while telling my daughter about our family connection to it (my great-grandfather fought in the War of Independence), she looked at the painting and said, completely deadpan, “Mommy, where are all the girls?”

 

That question stayed with me. When I was selected for the commission, it felt like a chance to respond.

 

Accenture’s Women on Walls campaign is guided by the idea that you cannot be what you cannot see, underlining the importance of visibility for girls and women in public spaces.

 

My portrait honours eight women from Munster whose work has shaped lives and communities:

 

• Traveller rights campaigner Brigid Carmody

• Cork Sexual Violence Centre founder Mary Crilly

• Barrister, doctor, and coroner Dr Myra Cullinane

• Musician and arts advocate Dr Evelyn Grant

• Cork Migrant Centre director Dr Naomi Masheti

• Palliative care consultant Dr Patricia Sheahan

• Cork Penny Dinners director Caitríona Twomey

• Sexual violence therapist and activist Dola Twomey​

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Artist Vanessa Jones painted Nano Nagle, Gerry Davis painted Edna O'Brien and Joanne O'Riordan was painted by Vera Klute.

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Photography credit: Shane O’Neill