Oisin Kelly Candle Holder Pattern

"The 'Male /Female' candleholders were designed by Oisin Kelly (1915–1981) for Kilkenny Design Workshops, circa 1966. Kilkenny Design Workshops was established from a Government initiative intending to utilise Design for economic benefit for Irish businesses. The candleholders were produced for mass production by Waterford Iron Founders (now Waterford Stanley). The candlesticks were made from cast Iron and the Pattern was the only one created to produce these. The Pattern is made from aluminium and was the most important item in the process of manufacture at the foundry, then located in Bilberry, Waterford City. The pattern was rescued from being discarded by a patternmaker in the 1990s. Oisin Kelly was most famous for his sculptural pieces such as the Jim Larkin statue in O Connell Street Dublin (1977). This artefact I feel has national importance as it illustrates an significant transition point for Irish Industrial Design, and it embodies an important timestamp for Irish modernist aesthetic. Having worked for Waterford Stanley and having an appreciation of contemporary Product Design, I was delighted to be presented with the pattern by an ex work colleague this year. "