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VIDEO John McNamara Exhibition and Achievement Award at Hunt Museum

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Pictured at the John McNamara Exhibition launch; Chloe Walsh, model, Catherine Bourke, assistant to John McNamara, Celia Holman Lee, Michael McNamara, Sinead Clohessy, Specsavers Limerick, Kyla McGowan model and Richard Lynch, ilovelimerick. Picture: Johnny Baynes/ilovelimerick.

The John McNamara Exhibition, celebrating some of the outstanding fashion creations of the late Limerick fashion designer, will take place at the Hunt Museum for three weeks commencing Thursday, April 6 running until Sunday, April 30.


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John McNamara, from South Circular Road in Limerick, died in 2015. He graduated in fashion from the Grafton Academy Dublin and Kingston University London and was regarded as one of Ireland’s most talented designers with an eye for glamour and tailoring. John worked with fashion supremo Ib Jorgenson in Dublin for many years, and then returned to his native Limerick where he set up his own workshop. His many clients included President Mary Robinson who commissioned John to design one of her inauguration outfits.

The event will be launched with the John McNamara Achievement Award honouring the designs of new fashion designers, sponsored by Specsavers Limerick. A winning garment will be chosen from fashion design students attending Limerick School of Art and Design, Limerick College of Further Education, and Mallow School of Fashion and Tailoring.

“John was a great supporter of young talent, organising the annual International Colleges’ Fashion event in recent years in Limerick. It is a pleasure for Specsavers Limerick to be sponsors of the Achievement Award in his name,” said Sinead Clohessy of Specsavers Limerick. Judges will include Catherine Bourke who was John’s assistant for almost three decades and fashion designer Michelina Stacpoole.

“The exhibition which opens Thursday, April 6, will give those attending an idea of the magnificent designs John did for his many clients,” said style queen Celia Holman Lee one of the organisers of the exhibition and one of John’s closest friends. “On display will be examples of wedding and glamorous day and evening wear,” she added.

And while some designers may be of the “no pain, no gain” train of thought when it comes to fashion design, it’s refreshingly obvious that John McNamara’s design brilliance came from the fact that his work was more about keeping in tune with his client’s lifestyle needs than just what was in fashion, in any particular season. John’s stunning couture garments are a favourite among fashion lovers in Limerick and further afield.

The John McNamara Exhibition will take place at the Hunt Museum for three weeks commencing Thursday, April 6 running until Sunday, April 30.

To find out about other exhibitions at the Hunt Museum, click here.

To read more stories about John McNamara, click here.

Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.