Bio

Celtic Threads by Léonie

Threads of Tradition, Stitched by Hand

Léonie Lynam

I live in Bantry, West Cork, beside the sea, on the Wild Atlantic Way and surrounded by cairns, pillar stones and stone circles. Inspired by History, design and form of our Celtic Traditions, the marriage of the Pagan and the Christian world, the Old Gods and the new.  

I have been stitching all my life, no formal training, just the art being passed through the generations, from my grandmother to my mother to then myself and my sisters. I’ve worked in the Corporate world for over 30 years, having studied Irish Archaeology at University College Cork and Employment Law in the National College of Ireland. I take my inspiration from the symbols and designs left by Celtic hands on the ancient stones in Ireland. My choice of materials is to work on black Aida with “báinín” coloured thread, creating images from the ancient world and a reminder of an earlier age, the smell of sheep’s wool, undyed and in its natural.

My Celtic Series explores the variety and legacy Celtic knots and Crosses.  The Kilnaruane Series is much closer to home and my heart, from the 6th Century richly carved Pillar Stone standing just outside Bantry. The Brú na Bóinne Series is based on symbols left on the Neolithic sites of Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth.