New book explores remarkable life of Mayo painter Owen Walsh

The life and work of Westport-born painter Owen Walsh is being brought into focus in a new book by his son, Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, exploring the artist’s remarkable talent, uncompromising personality and complicated personal life.

Owen Walsh, Artist: A Tale of Talent and Self-Sabotage, published by The Liffey Press on November 19, traces his journey from his childhood in Mayo to the artistic circles of Dublin and Europe.

Born in 1933, Owen Walsh showed exceptional artistic ability from an early age. He won a scholarship to the National College of Art in Dublin before continuing his studies in Europe, where he encountered new influences that helped shape his work.

Charismatic and fiercely independent, he was determined to pursue his own artistic vision. However, his refusal to compromise brought him into conflict with family expectations, financial pressures and the established art world.

For readers in Mayo, the book offers an opportunity to discover the story of a local artist whose paintings would later receive recognition in the National Gallery of Ireland, Leinster House and the Irish pavilion at the World Expo in Dubai.

Using a contemporary fictional narrator, imagined dialogue and letters alongside events from his father’s life, Eoghan explores the man behind the paintings: a gifted and proud artist whose dedication to his work came at a personal cost.

At the centre of the story is 108 Lower Baggot Street in Dublin, where Owen lived and painted for more than 40 years. His bedroom also served as his studio, with canvases, books and the smell of turpentine and linseed oil becoming permanent features of his surroundings.

The house was part of Baggotonia, a once-thriving bohemian neighbourhood of artists, writers, poets and musicians. The book revisits a world of friendships, arguments and financial uncertainty, featuring figures including Patrick Kavanagh, Brendan Behan, Siobhán McKenna and Paul Durcan.

Owen’s paintings were characterised by striking colour and vitality, but his pride, volatility and resistance to convention often made recognition and financial security difficult to achieve.

Illustrated with numerous reproductions of his work, the book follows his story through to the recognition his paintings received after his death in 2002.

Eoghan O’Mara Walsh said he wanted to capture both his father’s artistic achievements and the personal struggles that shaped his life.

“My father was a fascinating man in many ways – his independence and pride was to his own cost yet his art is an enduring reminder of his talent and ability,” he said. “I wanted to retell his story – the highs and lows – as well as capture the Dublin he inhabited, his Baggot Street studio, the pubs, the friendships, the arguments.”

Playwright Frank McGuinness described the book as “a wonderful book, a deeply felt testimony to a unique talent, illuminating and unflinching”.

Broadcaster Sonya Lennon called it “a rallying call to recognize an important and difficult talent” and “a love letter from a son to a father”.

The book will be launched at Trinity College Dublin on Thursday, November 19, at 6.30pm. The event will feature Sonya Lennon in conversation with Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, alongside a talk by historian Donal Fallon.

Owen Walsh, Artist: A Tale of Talent and Self-Sabotage is published by The Liffey Press, priced at €22.95. It will be available from bookshops and through the publisher’s website from November 19.