17th March - Richard Joseph King

#OnThisDay St Patrick’s Day, 17 March 1974, Richard Joseph King died.

Richard Joseph King was born in Castlebar, County Mayo in 1907.  In 1928, he became an apprentice to the Irish stained glass artist Harry Clarke.  After the death of Harry Clarke in 1931, Richard Joseph King managed the studio for a time.  He ran his own studio in Dalkey from 1940 onwards.  As well as being a talented stain glass artist, he was also a stamp designer and illustrator.  He is especially known for his illustrations in The Capuchin Annual.

He commemorated the life of Saint Patrick in an Irish airmail stamp and a spectacular stain glass window in the Church of Saint Peter and Paul, Athlone.

Examples of his work, the enamel on bronze Stations of the Cross, can be seen locally in Our Lady Mother of Divine Grace Church, Raheny.

Richard Joseph King died at his home on the Howth Road, Raheny on the feast day of his favourite saint, Saint Patrick’s Day 1974.

You can read lovely tributes, see many photographs and examples of his work here in the 1975 edition of The Capuchin Annual (pages 169- 216).