Mechanic downs his tools after stroke to discover artistic side

From the ashes of illness, a remarkable artistic talent has emerged.

Eugene O’Driscoll with his granddaughter Ellie, and right, one of his paintings. A mechanic who discovered his artistic side during his recovery from a life-threatening stroke will unveil his art work to the world today.

Eugene O’Driscoll, from Farranree on Cork’s northside, will launch his first exhibition of paintings at Cork University Hospital today.

Organised in conjunction with the acquired brain injuries support group Headway, the CUH speech therapy department and the hospital’s arts department, the exhibition, In Bloom, charts the remarkable emergence of his unique creative talent.

Eugene, who is also known to family and friends as Owen, said: “Sometimes after brain injury, you can be uptight and worried. But painting relaxes me. When I’m painting, I’m concentrating so hard on the work that I think only about what I’m doing and the end product gives me enormous satisfaction.”

Eugene, who celebrates his 64th birthday today, suffered a stroke in 2009.

During rehabilitation, it became clear that his capacity for verbal communication had been badly affected by his stroke.

His son Chris, a graphic designer, gave him a present of paint, paint brushes, and canvass, and after some weeks, he began to paint.

Wife Betty said he hasn’t stopped since. “He was a mechanic all his life and ran his own business for years from a garage behind our house,” she said.

“He would sketch during quiet periods at work but he never picked up a paintbrush. He wouldn’t even paint the house,” she joked.

She praised the doctors at the Mercy University Hospital who treated her husband in the hours after his stroke, and Headway for its encouragement. “He gets a lot of support at home from the family but he wouldn’t be where he is today without Headway,” she said.

Headway spokeswoman Paula Larkin said painting has offered Eugene a new lease of life. “In Bloom is a celebration of life, captured in the colour and vibrancy Owen sees in the flowers grown by Betty in their garden at home,” she said.

“It is an exhibition not just of a remarkable talent, but is also a reminder that even in trauma, we can always find beauty and peace.”

lwww.headway.ie