36 Notable alumni of National College of Art and Design
Updated: May 31, 2026 EliteDegrees
National College of Art and Design is ranked #5,879 in the world and #22 in Ireland by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 36 notable alumni from National College of Art and Design sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with National College of Art and Design won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Katie Holten
1975-. (aged 51)
painter
installation artist
sculptor
draftsperson
Katie Holten is a contemporary Irish artist whose artwork focuses on humans' impact on the natural environment.
2. John Trotter
1752-1792 (aged 40)
painter
artist
John Trotter was an Irish artist and portrait painter.
3. Neasa Ní Chianáin
1975-. (aged 51)
screenwriter
filmmaker
film director
cinematographer
Neasa Ní Chianáin is an Irish documentary filmmaker who is best known for her 2022 film Young Plato, which has been critically acclaimed and nominated for some of the most prestigious awards in the film industry, including the International Documentary Association awards and the British Independent Film Awards.
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4. Henry Tresham
1751-1814 (aged 63)
painter
art historian
Henry Tresham RA was an Irish-born British historical painter active in London in the late 18th century. He spent some time in Rome early in his career, and was professor of painting at the Royal Academy of Arts in London from 1807 to 1809.
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5. Gabriel Hayes
1909-1978 (aged 69)
sculptor
Gabriel Hayes was an Irish artist born in Dublin. She was a sculptor and medallist who studied in Dublin, France, and Italy and was also an accomplished painter.
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6. Daryl Kerrigan
1964-. (aged 62)
costume designer
fashion designer
Daryl Kerrigan, known professionally as Daryl K, is an Irish-born fashion designer based in New York City.
7. Paul Daly
sculptor
Paul Daly is an Irish sculptor and designer, currently based in London's East End.
8. Lydia Shackleton
1828-1914 (aged 86)
scientific illustrator
painter
botanical illustrator
Lydia Shackleton was an Irish botanical artist who studied at the Royal Dublin School of Art and Design. She was the first artist-in-residence at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Dublin, creating hundreds of botanic studies. She also taught, wrote verses, and travelled to the United States.
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9. Leo Whelan
1892-1956 (aged 64)
painter
Leo Whelan RHA was an Irish painter. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
10. Patrick Tuohy
1894-1930 (aged 36)
painter
Patrick Tuohy was an Irish portrait, narrative, and genre painter.
11. Oliver Sheppard
1865-1941 (aged 76)
sculptor
Oliver Sheppard RHA was an Irish sculptor, most famous for his 1911 bronze statue of the mythical Cuchullain dying in battle. His work was also part of the art competitions at the 1924 Summer Olympics and the 1928 Summer Olympics.
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12. Eileen Shields
1970-. (aged 56)
designer
Eileen Shields is a footwear designer and owner of the EILEEN SHIELDS label and the Dublin-based store/gallery "5 Scarlet Row". Shields's shoe designs have been worn by a number of celebrities, including Eva Longoria's character on Desperate Housewives. Shields has made custom shoes for Bono, Halle Berry, Eva Longoria, Courteney Cox Arquette, and Drew Barrymore.
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13. Pauline Bewick
1935-2022 (aged 87)
painter
Pauline Bewick was an English-born Irish artist.
14. Beatrice Elvery
1883-1970 (aged 87)
painter
sculptor
illustrator
stained-glass artist
Beatrice Moss Elvery, RHA was an Irish painter, stained-glass artist and sculptor.
15. Eileen Lemass
1932-. (aged 94)
politician
Eileen Lemass is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician, who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 1987, and also as a member of the European Parliament from 1984 to 1989.
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16. Mary Fitzgerald
1956-. (aged 70)
artist
Mary FitzGerald is an Irish artist. She lives and works in Dublin and County Waterford. After graduating from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 1977, she moved to Japan where she lived and exhibited between 1979 and 1981. FitzGerald has held numerous solo exhibitions in Ireland, Europe and the United States and has participated in group exhibitions...
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17. Seán Keating
1889-1977 (aged 88)
teacher
painter
Seán Keating was an Irish romantic-realist painter who painted some iconic images of the Irish War of Independence and of the early industrialization of Ireland. He spent two weeks or so each year during the late summer on the Aran Islands and his many portraits of island people depicted them as rugged heroic figures.
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18. Elizabeth Yeats
1868-1940 (aged 72)
businessperson
publisher
Elizabeth Corbet Yeats, known as Lolly, was an Irish educator and publisher. She worked as an art teacher and published several books on art, and was a founder of Dun Emer Press which published several works by her brother W. B. Yeats. She was the first commercial printer in Ireland to work exclusively with hand presses.
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19. Mary Devenport O'Neill
1898-1967 (aged 69)
poet
writer
Mary Devenport O'Neill was an Irish poet and dramatist and a friend and colleague of W. B. Yeats, George Russell, and Austin Clarke.
20. Patrick Swift
1927-1983 (aged 56)
painter
Patrick Swift was an Irish painter who worked in Dublin, London and the Algarve, Portugal.
21. Hugh Douglas Hamilton
1740-1808 (aged 68)
painter
Hugh Douglas Hamilton RHA was an Irish painter who specialised in portrait painting. He spent considerable periods in London and Rome before returning to Dublin in the early 1790s. Until the mid-1770s, he worked mostly in pastel. His style influenced the English painter Lewis Vaslet (1742–1808).
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22. Shane Berkery
1992-. (aged 34)
painter
Shane Keisuke Berkery is an Irish-Japanese contemporary artist based in Dublin, Ireland. His cultural background has been a major influence on his work and is a frequent theme in his paintings. Berkery primarily works out of his studio in Dublin.
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23. Stella Steyn
1907-1987 (aged 80)
photographer
painter
Stella Steyn was an Irish artist.
24. Lily Yeats
1866-1949 (aged 83)
designer
Susan Mary Yeats, known as Lily Yeats, was an embroiderer associated with the Celtic Revival. In 1908 she founded the embroidery department of Cuala Industries, with which she was involved until its dissolution in 1931. She is known for her embroidered pictures.
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25. Walter Osborne
1859-1903 (aged 44)
painter
Walter Frederick Osborne was an Irish impressionist and Post-Impressionism landscape and portrait painter, best known for his documentary depictions of late 19th century working class life. Most of his paintings are figurative and focus on women, children, the elderly, the poor, and the day-to-day life of ordinary people on Dublin streets, as well as series of rural scenes. He also...
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26. George William Russell
1867-1935 (aged 68)
screenwriter
painter
writer
journalist
poet
George William Russell, who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a central figure in the group of devotees of theosophy which met in Dublin for many years.
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27. Reginald Gray
1930-2013 (aged 83)
painter
Reginald Gray was an Irish portrait artist. He studied at The National College of Art (1953) and then moved to London, becoming part of the School of London led by Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach. In 1960, he painted a portrait of Bacon which is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London. He subsequently painted...
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28. Neasa Hardiman
screenwriter
television director
film director
Neasa Hardiman is an Irish director of both fiction and nonfiction, predominantly known for her television work.
29. Niamh Smyth
1972-. (aged 54)
politician
Niamh Smyth is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment since January 2025 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cavan–Monaghan constituency since the 2016 general election. She served as the Chair of the Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht from September 2020...
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30. William Butler Yeats
1865-1939 (aged 74)
writer
poet
mystic
astrologer
politician
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and, along with John Millington Synge and Lady Gregory, founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. He was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize...
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31. Dónal Lunny
1947-. (aged 79)
singer
record producer
guitarist
composer
music arranger
Dónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozaik, LAPD, and Usher's Island, he has been at the forefront of the renaissance of Irish traditional music for over five decades. In 2025 he was...
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32. Grace Gifford
1888-1955 (aged 67)
caricaturist
Grace Evelyn Gifford Plunkett was an Irish artist and cartoonist who was active in the Republican movement, who married her fiancé Joseph Plunkett in Kilmainham Gaol only a few hours before he was executed for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising.
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33. Harry Clarke
1889-1931 (aged 42)
painter
illustrator
glass artist
Henry Patrick Clarke RHA was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts movement.
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34. Philip Treacy
1967-. (aged 59)
fashion designer
modiste
designer
dressmaker
Philip Anthony Treacy OBE is an Irish haute couture milliner, or hat designer, who has been mostly based in London for his career, and who was described by Vogue magazine as "perhaps the greatest living milliner". In 2000, Treacy became the first milliner in eighty years to be invited to exhibit at the Paris haute couture fashion shows. He has...
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35. Liam Clancy
1935-2009 (aged 74)
actor
singer
guitarist
Liam Clancy was an Irish folk singer from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest member of the influential folk group the Clancy Brothers, regarded as Ireland's first pop stars. They achieved global sales of millions and appeared in sold-out concerts at such prominent venues as Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.
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36. William Orpen
1878-1931 (aged 53)
painter
visual artist
artist
Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, KBE, RA, RHA was an Irish artist who mainly worked in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in Edwardian society, though many of his most striking paintings are self-portraits.
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