A fashion designer whose gowns have been worn by Oprah Winfrey is to be honoured at University College Cork later this week, along with an accomplished furniture maker and a cultural historian.

WITH the recent focus on designers such as JW Anderson, Simone Rocha, Natalie B Coleman and Danielle Romeril, one could be forgiven for assuming that their success is somehow unprecedented in the history of Irish design.

Fashion designer Don O’Neill says he is more than twice blessed: A career to die for, love of partner, family, and friends, a fulfilling and often hectic work and social life in New York, and the chance to come home a few times a year to his native Ballyheigue, Co Kerry.