Helen O'Sullivan-Tyrrell

Born in London in 1968, O’Sullivan-Tyrrell grew up in Bray, Co. Wicklow but is now based in Brussels. While mainly a figurative painter, her subjects range from portraiture, still life and landscape and she is currently examining the theme of tribal identities; particularly how the imagery associated with Catholicism is intertwined with what is viewed as ‘Irishness’.  

Helen has exhibited extensively in in Belgium and Ireland and is part of many private and public collections including the OPW. In 2013 a painting of her daughter ‘The Convalescent’ was selected as one of the 12 finalists in the inaugural Hennessy Portrait Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland.  In April 2015 the same picture was selected as a finalist for the UK’s BP Portrait Awards and toured to the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh and the Ulster Museum, Belfast. Helen was again shortlisted for the Hennessy Portrait Award in 2015.