Tipperary jewellery designer on her new collection and exhibition in local library
Eileen Hassett, a jewellery maker from Tipperary, has praised the library in Templemore for helping her display her work in recent years.
Eileen Hassett is a jewellery designer based in Loughmore, Templemore. She has recently released a new collection this month and will be soon holding an exhibition in Templemore Library to highlight this collection.
Eileen takes us through a past collection that is already on display in the library.
The collection is displayed in a historical cabinet in the community room of the state of the art library in Templemore. Eileen named this collection ‘Donie & Dancing Master’ after drawing inspiration from letters written by her late father Donal Clarke. After spending some time researching her family history, she discovered the letters by her father which were written in 1937. One such letter was about the “Dancing Man”, which was a dancing puppet type figure which featured at fairs.
“A few years ago, while I was researching my family tree, I came across these letters written by my late father, Donal Clarke. These letters are available online at www.Duchas.ie. During my search for inspirations for my jewellery designs, The Dancing Master, kept appearing in my sketches. He was quite a challenge to make. Following this design, I decided to make an Irish Dancing Cailin to accompany him. “The Dancing Baby” is the latest addition ,completing the Collection,” says Eileen.
Eileen has been designing jewellery since 2015 and began her business after she graduated from a jewellery making course in Dublin.
All of Eileen’s jewellery is handmade in her workshop at her home, meaning each piece is made local in Tipperary. In fact most of Eileen’s customers are local and from the county, she says. “I get an awful lot of local support,” she says.
Those who visit this current exhibition may have the chance to see Eileen’s new collection on display in the library, which will join the current display soon. “The dates are still to be confirmed,” she explains to the Tipperary Star. Eileen explains what inspired her to create her latest collection, which she released in August 2025.
“The idea behind the new collection is nature and the perfection that you find in nature. The title of the new collection is the ‘Lucas Spiral Collection’ and it’s a bit like the Fibonacci sequence. Pieces in this collection are designed to capture the elegance and mystery of the mathematical sequence called The Lucas Spiral.
“It is a celebration of the balance and harmony found within the natural world. From the arrangement of petals in some flowers to the spirals of certain shells and even deeper in the galaxies. Each piece is designed to be a wearable work of art, imbued with meaning and reflecting the elegance of the Lucas Spiral, carefully crafted in gold and silver. It’s amazing really how nature can be so perfect,” says Eileen. Eileen’s work is clearly inspired by the nature and beauty that can be found in ordinary natural life. Looking at the perfect natural patterns that inspired her latest collection, Eileen says “I suppose there’s something more powerful than us, you see it in these things. We couldn’t do it if we tried,” she concludes.
Eileen praises the library and its staff for being so wonderful in allowing her to exhibit her work. “They’ve always been very supportive and helpful in the library, they’ve recently built a new library there, it's state of the art, it’s really a lovely place,” she says. Those wishing to take a look at Eileen’s collection can do so in the community room of Templemore Library.
Eileen's jewellery can be found on her website here.