Margaret Irwin West


Margaret "Mo" Irwin West is an Indian-born Irish printmaker.

Early life

Margaret Irwin was born in the Central Provinces of British India in 1926 to Anglo-Irish parents. Her father was from County Roscommon and worked in the Indian Civil Service. She lived in County Wicklow from the age of nine, and was taught drawing by Lilian Davidson. She studied languages at Trinity College, Dublin.

Career

Irwin West studied at the atelier of André Lhote in Paris. Later, she studied at the Graphic Studio Dublin. She works in etching, chine-collé, intaglio and painting. She taught at the National College of Art and Design from 1982 to 1991.
She was elected to Aosdána in 2019.

Personal life

Margaret Irwin married Rodney West in 1957; they had two children. She lives in Claddaghduff, Connemara.