Ailbhe has an instinctive grasp of pattern and colour. Her distinctive portraits of people, and reinterpretations of artwork transform often well-known images with areas of surface pattern. Her drawings are seemingly accomplished using a continuous line, her hand not leaving the page. Ailbhe is a dedicated artist who works in printmaking, acrylic and watercolour paint, acrylic ink, charcoal and pastels.
Ailbhe was a joint recipient of an Arts and Disability Connect Award in 2021, to develop her print making skills with Cork Printmakers. Her work culminated in a group exhibition at MTU Crawford College of Art and Design called Observations in Print.
Ailbhe has also worked as a collaborative workshop leader, most recently with young people in Scoil Bernadette in Cork, as part of the Creative Schools Programme organised by Creative Ireland.
Ailbhe has exhibited her artwork widely including the following venues: Gallerie Outsider Art, Amsterdam, Hamburg International Literary Festival, Germany, Mayfield Arts Centre, KFEST, Killorglin, Kerry, Crawford Gallery, Cork, Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, MTU School of Music Cork, Frank O’Connor Library, Mayfield, Cork, Imagine Arts Festival, Waterford, Quay Co-Op, Cork, Boyle Arts Festival, Roscommon, Courthouse Arts Centre, Wicklow, Cork City Hall, Southbank Gallery, London, Kings Hall, Belfast, Galway Arts Centre, Arts and Minds Canberra, Australia, HAI, New York, Other Voices Paul Bardwell Gallery of Contemporary Art, Colombia, Kinsale Arts Week, Sirius Art Centre, Cobh, Jennings Gallery, University College Cork. Ailbhe worked as an artist in residence at Mayfield Arts Centre for a decade, as part of the Cúig studio programme.
