Nurse and artist Marley Irish will mark her retirement from University Hospital Waterford (UHW) with her final exhibition on the Staff Art Wall at the hospital. Returning Home is a colourful, atmospheric collection of rural farming scenes, which Marley is dedicating to her husband PJ. The exhibition will remain on show until 01 July 2026. The Staff Art Wall is a Waterford Healing Arts programme, managed by Réalta. Further details are available from www.waterfordhealingarts.com
Marley Irish has been a member of staff at UHW since 1983, and is currently a nurse in the Dermatology Department. She is also a mother of five, and has painted all her life, beginning with pastels, and progressing to acrylics and oils. Her work is inspired by the Impressionist Movement, especially the work of Edgar Degas, with strong vivid colours depicting the movement in her subjects.
Speaking about Returning Home, Marley says “I’m dedicating this show to my husband PJ, who has been farming all his life. In fact, he has been farming for the same length of time that I have been nursing! The countryside farming scenes in this exhibition mean so much to both of us. The serene scene of cows meandering down a lane, steadily followed by their master, displays the calmness of the countryside. Indeed, in that painting, Homeward Bound, the cows are returning home, as I am, too.”
Reflecting on her forthcoming retirement after 43 years nursing, Marley has countless memories to talk about: “UHW was called ‘Ardkeen’ when I started, and I think I have worked in almost every department in the hospital – Paediatrics, the Neo-Natal Unit, Maternity (pre and post), Casualty (Emergency Department), ICU (Intensive Care Unit), HDU (High Dependency Unit), CCU (Coronary Care Unit), Medical Wards, Angiography, Renal Dialysis, Orthopaedics and finally Dermatology. I trained here for six weeks and then we were sent on to the wards. My graduation photo is on the wall! I was Marley Brennan then. I actually met my husband PJ in the hospital. He had got a belt on the nose with a hurl and was getting it fixed in ENT. I was on nights, and had two black eyes and several stitches, having been knocked out in a camogie match that day. I must have been a sight!”
Marley goes on to say “My nursing life and my art life are intertwined. The art is always on my mind, but the hospital is a huge part of me. I have donated a number of my paintings to the UHW Art Collection, beginning in the early 1990s when I donated my painting of a Flamenco Dancer, and most recently I donated an artwork to be raffled at the UHW Hospital Ball in aid of the Oasis Women’s Refuge. Of course, my involvement with Réalta (formerly Waterford Healing Arts Trust) goes back decades, too. In addition to my nine exhibitions on the Staff Art Wall, I’ve been involved in many of the art initiatives and group exhibitions organised by Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts at UHW. I have seen first-hand the great work that Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts do at the hospital, and am always happy to support all that they do.”
“The Chapel at UHW is also an important part of my life, as are my many memories of my annual pilgrimages to Lourdes. This year was my 23rd to go to Lourdes. I was honoured to be invested as a Dame in the Irish Association of the Order of Malta in 2019. That was a very special moment. I feel it’s important to tell my story, and to talk about retirement. Many nurses retire and walk away, and their story is never told, which is such a pity. There is so much to being a nurse, and we meet so many people down through the years. I happened to meet a lady in clinic recently, whose husband I treated years ago. She has continued to send a Christmas card every year since then. There’s great humanity in people.”
Returning Home is the ninth exhibition by Marley Irish on the Staff Art Wall at UHW. Previous exhibitions include Mother’s Love (2025), Wildness (2024), Summertime (2023), Dunmore East Magic (2022), Summertime 2019 (2019), Dance of Colours (2017), Musical Dance (2015) and an untitled exhibition of artworks in 2013. The Staff Art Wall is one of the Waterford Healing Arts programmes at the hospital, managed by Réalta. The Staff Art Wall aims to celebrate the creativity of staff working at UHW by providing an opportunity for staff to display their work. Further information is available from Réalta: 051 842664 / info@realta.ie
After her retirement, Marley will continue to paint in her St Ives Gallery in Slieverue, South Kilkenny. Further details are available from www.marleyirish.com
