Deirdre O’Mahony:
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE profiles the circumstance and nature of paintings realised throughout the 1990s by Deirdre O’Mahony. Made in and about the Burren, an area of outstanding natural beauty in the west of Ireland, O’Mahony’s artworks embody the complexities of this beguiling landscape. Encounters with environmental controversy, tourism, economic development, and an entrenched conservative visual ideology all encroach and impact on her artistic approach of the time.

An extensive illustrated interview with the artist features, alongside a contribution with Paul Sheane, a business executive whose experiences with defunct semi-state organisation Shannon Development resulted in an art collection including O’Mahony’s artwork.

First printing 2021. Reprinted 2025 on the occasion of Deirdre O’Mahony, Between A Rock
and A Hard Place, VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow, 8 February–18 May 2025, curated by Benjamin Stafford.