This site celebrates the life and work of sculptor
John Cassidy (1860 - 1939).

We visited Drogheda in 2007 to see the town and visit the
Highlanes Gallery with its two Cassidy paintings, both of
which date from c. 1880. Above is 'Street Scene in
Drogheda.'

The skyline is much the same over a century later.

'The Bathe House' no longer exists...

... but the Georgian buildings to the left of the view from
the corner of Shop Street still have the same look.
While in Ireland, John saw himself as a painter; he does not
seem to have realised his skill as a sculptor until he
arrived in Manchester. The self-portrait illustrated above
is now in a private collection in the USA.
Special thanks to Doug Cassidy, Jo Callaghan, and the staff
of the Highlanes Gallery.
For more about Slane and the Cassidys, see our feature The
Cassidys of Slane.
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John Cassidy's Early Life in Ireland
A page to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of John Cassidy's
birth on 1 January 1860.

This picture from the Cassidy family collection, labelled
'the old home', is believed to show the Farmstead outside
Slane, County Meath, Ireland, where John was born in the
early hours of 1 January 1860.

As a teenager, he served an apprenticeship as a bar
assistant at the White Horse hotel in the nearby town of
Drogheda in County Louth. The hotel is still in operation in
the town centre, although renamed the Westcourt Hotel: it is
seen in the centre of the picture above. John spent much of
his free time sketching and painting, and attended classes
with artist Laurence Fagan of Trinity Street, before
securing the patronage of a local merchant, Mr R.B. Davis,
who bought some of his paintings, two of which (see left
column) were later presented to the town of Drogheda and are
now in the Highlanes
Gallery there, which also has several works by
Laurence Fagan.
Mr Davis paid for the young Cassidy to attend art classes in
Dublin. It has been written that he won a scholarship to
study in Milan, although we have discovered no record of
such a trip - what we do know is that by 1884 he was a
student at the Manchester
School
of Art, winning the first of his many prizes, a
'Council Prize, value £2, for the best Modelled Design.'
The Annual Report of the School for 1884 adds:
It was with very much
pleasure the Committee awarded this prize for a panel very
pleasingly rendered in low relief. The progress which this
work marks is highly creditable, considering the short
time the Modelling Class has been established.
The following year, 1885, he won a silver medal and various
other prizes at the National Competition held at South
Kensington, by 1887 he was working as an Assistant Teacher
at the School, and the rest is history.

This cabinet photograph from the family collection is the
earliest we have, and was probably taken in Ireland. The
moustache was John's trademark for the rest of his life.
Written by
Charlie Hulme, January 2010
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