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An Túr Gloine

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article An Túr Gloine, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 30 November 202513 sources
An Túr Gloine
Company typeCooperative studio
IndustryStained glass and opus sectile artistry
Founded1903
FounderSarah Purser
Defunct1944
Headquarters
Dublin
,
Ireland
ProductsStained glass, opus sectile artworks

An Túr Gloine (; meaning "The Glass Tower" in Irish) operated as a cooperative studio specializing in stained glass and opus sectile artistry from 1903 until 1944,[1] and was located in Dublin, Ireland.

History

Established in January 1903 at 24 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin, on grounds formerly used as tennis courts,[2] An Túr Gloine remained active throughout the early 20th century. Prominent contributors included Michael Healy, Evie Hone, Beatrice Elvery, Wilhelmina Geddes, Catherine O'Brien, Kathleen Quigly, and the founder Sarah Purser.[1] The cooperative was initiated with encouragement from Irish cultural advocate Edward Martyn and began by undertaking commissions such as those for the Roman Catholic St Brendan's Cathedral in Loughrea, County Galway.[3] Purser and Martyn sought to replace stained glass imports from England and Germany with creations produced in Ireland.[4] Purser’s knowledge of medieval stained glass and her extensive contacts were crucial to the studio’s achievements.[1]

A contributor to The Studio praised An Túr Gloine as "perhaps the most noteworthy example of the newly awakened desire to foster Irish genius," highlighting its dual role in craft education and the manufacture of superior stained glass.[5] The studio played an important role in advancing Ireland's glass industry economically by supplying ecclesiastical commissions. It is linked to the Arts and Crafts Movement[6] and deeply influenced by Irish revivalism, drawing inspiration from Celtic manuscript illumination styles.[7] Thanks largely to An Túr Gloine, Ireland emerged as a globally acknowledged center for stained-glass artistry.[8] Sarah Purser directed the studio until 1940, after which Catherine O'Brien took over leadership until its closure in 1944.[1] Following the closure, O'Brien acquired ownership of the premises and rented part of it to stained glass artist Patrick Pollen.[9]

Relation to literary culture

An Túr Gloine's commission drew critique from Irish poet W. B. Yeats in Samhain magazine, where he contended that "the bourgeois mind is never sincere in the arts":

Works

The following table enumerates significant projects and pieces created by An Túr Gloine and its affiliated artists.

Subject Site Location Artist
Memorial window commemorating World War I St. Bartholomew's Church Ottawa, Canada Wilhemina Geddes[6]
Windows Abbey Theatre Dublin An Túr Gloine[10]
Door panel featuring three candles symbolizing truth, knowledge, and wisdom St. Enda's School, Cullenswood House Ranelagh, Dublin Sarah Purser and An Túr Gloine[11]
Window depicting St. Fanchea and St. Enda St. Brigid, Faughart Parish Church Kilcurry, County Louth, Ireland Sarah Purser and An Túr Gloine[12]
Katharine Temple Emmet & Richard Stockton Emmet Memorial Window Christ Church Pelham Manor, New York, USA Sarah Purser
Multiple windows (three on south side, one in north aisle) St. Ann's Church, Dawson Street Dublin Wilhemina Geddes; north aisle window by Ethel Rhind[13]
World War I Memorial Window titled 'Fortitude' Wesley College, Dublin (St. Stephens Green) Dublin Alfred E. Child
At least five windows St Peter's Church, Wallsend North Tyneside, England Michael Healy (artist) and Ethel Rhind


Sources

  • Teehan, Virginia; Heckett, Elizabeth. The Honan Chapel: A Golden Vision. Cork University Press, Cork, 2005. ISBN 978-1-8591-8346-5
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Gordon Bowe BC
  2. ↑ De Breffny, Brian (1983). Ireland: A Cultural Encyclopedia. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 244.
  3. ↑ Martin Wallace, 100 Irish Lives (Rowman & Littlefield, 1983), p. 122
  4. ↑ Entry on stained glass, The Blackwell Companion to Modern Irish Culture, p. 542
  5. ↑ E.D., The Studio 33 (15 October 1904), pp. 260 and 262
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named online
  7. ↑ The Blackwell Companion to Modern Irish Culture, p. 542
  8. ↑ Terence Brown, Ireland: A Social and Cultural History, 1922 to the Present, p. 78
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Doyle
  10. ↑ The Collected Letters of W. B. Yeats, p. 973, note 4.
  11. ↑ Elaine Sisson, Pearse's Patriots, p. 210, note 20
  12. ↑ Casey & Rowan, North Leinster, p. 348
  13. ↑ St. Ann's Church, Dawson Street, visitors pamphlet.

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