At Showcase earlier this year Martine Moriartys glass art demanded much attention - and deservedly so, as it has a freshness and appeal that attracted much comment. However, glass was not Martine's first choice and she came upon this direction change quite by accident.

Martine was born in England and always had a great love of paining. She realised her wish to go to Art Collage and spent five years from 1979 to 1984 working for a Batchelor of Arts in Fine Art. Whilst at Bristol Art College , a tutor noted the similarity between Martine's paintings and stained glass. A chance remark set her thinking and she decided to try her hand at glass painting. After years of experimentation she left college and started her own business and worked successfully at that for four years before deciding to travel to Ireland on an extended holiday. She came to Dingle and fell in love with the area, the culture and the people and consequently decided to come to live on the beautiful Dingle Peninsula .

Fate was to intervene and here she met and married Kevin - they now have two boys - Kallam (9) and Morgan (5). They found and renovated an old barn, turning it into a three-bedroomed cottage. Next door to that they built The Old Barn Gallery, in which Martine sells here paintings and exhibits her glasswork. She works alongside interior designers and architects to create many different works of art and her portfolio is comprehensive. She has made windows, doors, screens, tables, wall hangings, lamps, as well as doing murals, painted furniture and much more.

"Many of my designs are inspired by the landscape on the Dingle Peninsula " she says, "The flowers, animals and events are ever interesting to me and I find there are never enough hours in the day to paint every thing I would like. I have so many ideas for glass and canvas paintings that just have to go on the long finger."

Martine's work can be seen in hotels, guesthouses, pubs, shops and private houses around the Dingle Peninsula , where she now spends much of the time working on commissions. "Customers will come to me with an idea for a door or window or other area and I will then draw up designs on paper which they will have to approve. I will then work on the design - differing types of glass are used depending on the situation and location - and different methods are used depending on whether the item is for interior or exterior use. The work is time consuming and sometimes takes months to complete"

However, Martine enjoys her work and says "I realise that I am very privileged to be able to work at doing something I love. It's creative and always different and each task is a new challege."

Irish Interiors 2002