A brooch for Siobhán McSweeney
From Bog to Stage: A lovely surprise
There are times when making feels quiet and solitary — hours spent sawing, sanding, listening to the wood rather than rushing it. And then, every so often, something happens that makes you stop and take it all in. Having a bog oak brooch I made being worn on stage in London by Siobhán McSweeney in The Playboy of the Western World at the National Theatre in London is one of those moments.
Siobhán McSweeney on stage wearing one of the brooches I designed and made.
Siobhán is an amazing actor - I lover her as Sister Michael in the Derry GIrls! Although nothing like Sister Assumpta (who thought us sex education back in Mercy College Woodford when I was a young fella!) her character totally brings many of us back to our secondary school days. She also starred in many, many movies and hosted The Traitors Ireland last year in those fantastic outfits.
When I got an email from Katie Davenport (http://katiedavenportdesign.com/), an award winning set and costume designer based in Dublin asking about a particular sold out brooch I thought it was something the scenographer was looking for herself. However, it soon emerged that she was designing a costume for Siobhán McSweeney who was acting the role of Widow Quin in The Playboy of the Western World alongside Nicola Coughlan and Éanna Hardwicke.
As the brooch that Katie had enquired about was sold out I was commissioned to create one similar in style. I ended up making 6 different brooches in various styles and sizes - I called them Cailleach, Draiocht, Fiadh, Bronagh, Morrigan and Caol and they made their way from the boggy fields of Athenry to the concrete jungle of London. Two of them ended up being chosen to be worn on different outfits I was delighted to find out.
Making the Brooch
I didn’t start with a fixed idea - only that I knew it had be robust, be visible from far away and not dominate the costume at the same time. Instead, I let the grain, colour, and weight of the bog oak lead. There’s a trust involved in that process — accepting that the material often knows more than you do. As the character is bit witch like I decided that some of the brooches would be loosely based on a pendant I previously sold called Méar Cailleach (old hags finger) - I think this piece ended up in Mexico!
Because it was being made for the stage, I had to think beyond how it looked in my hands. It needed to hold its presence under lights, to work with movement, and to survive night after night of performance. But I didn’t want it to feel theatrical in an obvious way. I wanted it to feel real — like something the character might genuinely own, keep, or rely on.
Seeing It Worn
There’s something very special about handmade work in live theatre. Each performance is temporary, gone as soon as it’s finished — yet the object remains, absorbing gesture, breath, and presence. Knowing that this brooch is there, night after night, quietly doing its job, means more to me than I can easily explain. The best thing - I am actually going to London in a couple of weeks for a couple of days and I'm going to see the play. Can't wait to see my little creations on the big stage in person!
It Matters to Me
I don’t make jewellery to chase trends (I follow all the wrong people on the socials for that lol...) or spectacle. This time I will take the bright lights of the stage though. I’m incredibly grateful to Katie and everyone involved who trusted my work and allowed these small pieces of bog oak to take their place on the big stage. So more Irish bog oak, more Irish actors, more Irish scenographers, more Irish theatre in Landan eh?
Go see the play - details here for you.
Katie Davenport explaining the costume here.
If you’d like to know more about my work, commissions, or my relationship with bog oak, you’re always welcome to get in touch or follow along on Instagram.
