Mick O'Dea (born 1958) is an Irish artist best known as a painter of portraits and historical subjects. The second-youngest of five children, O'Dea grew up in

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

, County Clare, the son of Mick and Margaret O'Dea. He displayed a talent for portraiture at a young age, recalling, "I drew incessantly". From 1976 to 1981, O'Dea studied at 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 Dublin and the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

. He continued his studies in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and at the

Winchester School of Art Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles (14 km) north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England. History Winchester School of Art (WSA) was founded in 1 ...

in England, where he was awarded an M.A. in European Fine Art in 1997. O'Dea has received numerous awards and has exhibited internationally. Among the public collections in which his works are included are: The National Gallery of Ireland, the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts". About It was established in 1951 by the government of Ireland, to encourage interest in Irish art ( ...

, 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 ...

, the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc () is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history. At ...

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 ...

, the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

, The National Self-Portrait Collection, the National Drawing Collection, and the

Limerick City Gallery of Art Limerick City Gallery of Art (LCGA; ) is an art museum in the city of Limerick, Ireland. It is run by Limerick City Council and is located in Pery Square, in the Newtown Pery area of the city. The gallery is housed in a Romanesque Revival bui ...

. He has taught at the National College of Art and Design,

Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (), more commonly known as IADT Dún Laoghaire or simply IADT is an institute of technology with a focus on art and design located in Deansgrange near Dún Laoghaire, Ireland. It was esta ...

, the National Gallery,

Portlaoise Prison Portlaoise Prison () is a maximum security prison in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. Until 1929 it was called the Maryborough Gaol. It should not be confused with the Midlands Prison, which is a newer, medium security prison directly beside ...

, the Lyme Academy College of Fine Art, and the

, of which he is a member. From 2008 to 2011, he was the first school principal of the RHA. In 2014, he was elected president of the

. He is 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 ...

. In 2009, O'Dea was commissioned by the National Gallery of Ireland to paint a portrait of playwright

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

. Recent historical themes in his art have included paintings depicting the

Black and Tans The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...

and the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

.Trouble, ''The Irish Times'', 27 April 2012
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References

Resources

* ttp://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsfilmtv/visualarts/making-history-202105.html Making history, ''Irish examiner'', 22 July 2012
biography, RHA

* ttp://www.ucc.ie/en/pharmacy/NewsArchive/fullstory-106670-en.html Painting donated to University College Cork
Trouble, ''The Irish Times'', 27 April 2012

Ministry of Culture unveils portrait of Brian Friel at National Gallery, National Gallery of Ireland

Portrait of Brian Friel unveiled, ''Inishowen News'', 22 July, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODea, Mick 20th-century Irish painters 21st-century Irish painters 21st-century Irish male artists Irish male painters Aosdána members 1958 births Living people 20th-century Irish male artists