My Final Collection is based on the amazing life and home of my Grandad, John Linnane, in Castledaly, Count Galway – ‘Castleboy’, Teach na Gaillimhe. I took inspiration from the traditional fittings and infrastructure in his home, dating back to the 1940’s. I was also influenced by old photos of my. Grandad and his life around this time. Using shapes and fittings from old portraits of his car, shed and tool belts, I found a continuous form for my collection. My inspiration for colour came from the dated, tarnished, rusted tools that he had left in his work shed. The use of continuous linear layers in my designs were deeply inspired by his lifelong love of working and manufacturing with his hands. I repurposed hardware and tackle elements that I found in his tool box, throughout the collection. This element of my designs is similar to how he would have worked – continuously reinventing and repurposing.  

This story is one of special significance to me and speaks to my own and many families, traditional Irish lifestyle and heritage.