Maria Noonan-McDermott
Opening bio
Maria Noonan-McDermott is an Irish visual artist and poet from Donegal, based in Kinlough, Co. Leitrim. Her practice is rooted in the Irish landscape and shaped by light, folklore, memory, storytelling, and the lives of people connected to place. Working across painting and poetry, she creates work that draws on rural histories, emotional memory, and the imaginative world of the seanchaí.
Maria began her artistic career in Dublin in 1985, later completing studies in visual education and Fine Art. She held her first solo exhibition in 1990, beginning a practice that now spans almost four decades.
Short professional summary
Maria Noonan-McDermott has presented 29 solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Recent highlights include the touring solo exhibition Time-Lapse(2022–2026), shortlistings for the John Richardson French Residency Award, poetry selections for the Washing Windows anthology series published by Arlen House, and residency and bursary awards supporting the continued development of her practice.
Selected solo exhibitions
2026 — Time-Lapse, Strule Art Centre, Omagh
2024 — Time-Lapse, Ranelagh Arts Centre, Dublin 6
2024 — Time-Lapse, Cnoc Bui Arts Centre, Union Hall, West Cork
2023 — Time-Lapse, Solas Art Gallery, Ballinamore, Co.leitrim
2022 — Time-Lapse, The Alley Arts Centre, Strabane, Co. Tyrone
2022 — Time-Lapse, Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh
2022 — Time-Lapse, Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal
Further solo exhibitions available on request / full CV available as PDF.
Selected group exhibitions and projects
2026 — John Richardson French Residency Award, Shortlisted Artists Exhibition
2026 — Lahinch Art Gallery, Co.Clare, Resident Artist
2026 — Gallery 1608, Bushmills, Co.Antrim, Resident Artist
2026 — The Lough Erne Collection Exhibition
2025 — Bloodroot, Pulchri Studio, The Hague, with Hamilton Gallery and the Embassy of Ireland, The Netherlands
2025 — The Ulster Society of Woman Artists USWA Annual Group Exhibition, Belfast Gaol.
2025 — Commissioned to create three landscape works for the Landscapes & Belonging series for The Crawford Collection at Belle Isle, curated by Ciara Hambly / Hambly & Hambly Gallery
Awards and residencies
2026 — Shortlisted, John Richardson French Residency Award, for First Light
2025 — Residency Award, Tyrone Guthrie Centre
2025 — Won the Eilish MacBride Award at the Frances Browne Literary Festival
2024 & 2021 — Leitrim County Council Individual Artists Bursary Programme Award
2024 / 2026 — Inishowen Artists Retreat residency in partnership with Artlink Fort Dunree
2024 — Awarded full membership of the Ulster Society of Women Artists
2022 / 2023 — Donegal County Council Artists Bursary
2021 — Seed Grant Award, Irish Hospice Foundation in association with Creative Ireland
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Publications and poetry
2025 — The Lough Erne Collection publication
2025 — Poem The Red Chair selected for Washing Windows V
2024 — Poem The Empty Chair selected for Washing Windows IV: Irish Women Write Poetry
2023 — Poem Winter Tapestry included in Washing Windows III: Irish Women Write Poetry
2019 — Art and Poetry Book, Yesteryear
2016 — Art and Poetry book, Beyond the Horizon
Memberships and professional affiliations
Visual Artists Ireland — Professional Member
Ulster Society of Women Artists — Full Member
Creative Frame — Leitrim Professional Development Network
A full CV is available on request.
