Leo Broe (16 April 1899 – 9 April 1965) was an Irish sculptor.

Leo Broe
Born
Bernard Joseph Broe

16 April 1899
Dublin, Ireland
Died9 April 1965(1965-04-09) (aged 65)
Dublin, Ireland
NationalityIrish
OccupationSculptor

Life

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Leo Broe was born Bernard Joseph Broe on 16 April 1899 in Stillorgan, County Dublin.[1][2] He was called Leo by his family after Pope Leo XIII, to whom his mother was devoted.[2][3]

 
Monument by Broe to the Irish Volunteers in Phibsborough

Broe established a family sculpting business, Leo Broe and Sons, which was based in Harold's Cross, Dublin.[1] His daughter, Irene, and son, Desmond, also became sculptors.[4]

One of his most notable works is the monument in Phibsborough, Dublin to the men of the Old 'C' Company 1st Battalion Dublin Brigade of the Irish Volunteers from 1939. Broe himself was a member of the Irish Volunteers.[5][6] His son Desmond was the model for his monument to Comdt. Sean Wall in Bruff, County Limerick.[7] His work was exhibited alongside his daughter and son, as well as May Power, at the 1955 Institute of the Sculptors of Ireland exhibition in the Hugh Lane Gallery.[8] The Hugh Lane Gallery holds a marble bust of Patrick Pearse by Broe.[9]

Broe died on 9 April 1965, and is buried at Deans Grange Cemetery.[10] Broe's grandson, Damian, was trained in the family sculpting business which was later known as Monumental Sculptors, while his grandson Shane McDonnell, from his daughter Irene, also became a sculptor.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Art in Parks (PDF). Dublin: Dublin City Council. 2014. p. 23.
  2. ^ a b "BROE Leo 1899-1966". www.artbiogs.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Leo Broe auction results at Whyte's Art Auctions". Whyte's. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  4. ^ "BROE Desmond 1921-1968 | Artist Biographies". www.artbiogs.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  5. ^ "North Circular Road, Royal Canal Bank, Dublin 7, DUBLIN". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  6. ^ Casey, Christine (2005). Dublin : the city within the Grand and Royal Canals and the Circular Road with the Phoenix Park. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. p. 286. ISBN 9780300109238.
  7. ^ "Statues of Dublin: The Phibsborough Volunteer". Come Here To Me!. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  8. ^ Corkery, Seán (1955). "Two Exhibitions". The Furrow. 6 (6): 383–386. ISSN 0016-3120. JSTOR 27656707.
  9. ^ "High Treason: Roger Casement" (PDF). www.hughlane.ie. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Deansgrange War Graves". www.irishmedals.ie. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  11. ^ "National Irish Visual Arts Library: Broe, Damian". www.nival.ie. Retrieved 4 March 2021.