Celebrating the life of Mountmellick woman, Anne Jellicoe for this year’s Culture Night 

This Culture Night we celebrate the extraordinary life of Mountmellick native,  Anne Jellicoe born in 1823 into a Quaker family.  A video-mapped animation of her life will be projected onto the front wall of Mountmellick Community School on Fri Sept 17, from 8.30pm to 11.30pm.  This 7 minutes animation work is created by artist Caroline Conway and will play on a loop throughout the evening, illuminating the significance of Jellicoe’s historical achievements and contemporary relevance to Laois.  Special thanks to Mountmellick Community School for hosting this event and to Deputy Principal Frances Kerry – La Rosa for her support. 

Jellicoe was an Educationalist and Social Reformer. She was strongly influenced by her father, William Mullin who was a Quaker schoolmaster and ran his own school for boys. She was also influenced by Johanna Carter who provided vocational training for girls and invented Mountmellick Embroidery, proving to Jellicoe that work could liberate women socially and economically.  Her most notable achievements include setting up an embroidery and lace school to provide employment for young girls in Clara, Co. Offaly (circa 1846-1858).  In 1861 Jellicoe, along with Barbara Corlett, founded the Dublin branch of the London-based Society of Promoting the Employment of Women in order to educate women for work outside the home. She was a noted Irish educationalist and is best known for the founding of Alexandra College, Dublin in 1866. 

This event is part of a series of outdoor projections on pioneering Laois women.  An animation created by artist Caroline Conway on the life and work of Helen Roe (1895 – 1988) was projected as part of Culture Night 2020 at Fitzmaurice Place Portlaoise in 2020. Artist, Caroline Conway has been generating Heritage related video-mapped projections, ‘Vintage Luminaries’ for the past four years with Offline Film Festival.  Working with Caroline is technical expert John Johnston, bringing 3D wizardry and design support to the artworks.

Both artworks are commissioned by Laois County Council Library Services, Heritage Office and Arts Office and supported by Creative Ireland Laois as part of the Creative Ireland Programme 2017-2022 in partnership with Laois County Council.  Special thanks to Laois Libraries Historian in Residence (2019/2020), Regina Dunne for contributing her research and knowlege on both Anne Jellicoe and Helen Roe. 

For full details on Laois Culture Night 2021 programme, go to www.culturenight.ie.  Culture Night is brought to you by The Arts Council in partnership with Laois County Council.