The Power Family

Albert George Power did not work alone. He founded a sculptural dynasty that extended across three generations and shaped Irish public art from the 1880s to the late twentieth century. His son James Power became one of Ireland's most prolific monumental sculptors. His daughter May Power was a sculptor and artist in her own right. His grandson Oliver Power continued the family craft. This archive honours all of them.

1881–1945

Albert George Power RHA

Sculptor · Royal Hibernian Academician

The founder of the dynasty. Albert Power trained at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and the Royal College of Art, London, and became one of the foremost Irish sculptors of his generation. His death masks of Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith, Cathal Brugha, and Erskine Childers, his Pádraic Ó Conaire memorial in Galway, and his decorative work on the Gresham Hotel facade are among the defining sculptural works of the Irish revolutionary and early Free State periods.

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1920–2013

James Power

Sculptor · Son of Albert G. Power

Albert's son James Power became one of Ireland's most prolific monumental sculptors of the twentieth century, continuing and extending his father's legacy across decades of public and ecclesiastical commissions throughout Ireland.

1918–2005

May Power

Sculptor & Artist · Daughter of Albert G. Power

May Power, daughter of Albert, was a sculptor and artist who trained in the family tradition and exhibited her work through the mid-twentieth century. She was a significant figure in the continuation of the Power sculptural legacy.

1944–

Oliver Power

Sculptor · Grandson of Albert G. Power

Oliver Power, grandson of Albert and son of James, carried the family craft into the late twentieth century. A stonemason and sculptor, he worked on significant commissions including the Robert Emmet carved lettering (1938, completed with his father) and continued the Power tradition of monumental and ecclesiastical stone carving.

A Sculptural Dynasty

The Power family's contribution to Irish sculpture spans nearly a century — from Albert's training at the turn of the twentieth century to Oliver's work in the 1980s and beyond. Across three generations, they carved the death masks of revolutionaries, the facades of Dublin's great buildings, the memorials in her cemeteries, and the devotional statuary of her churches. This archive exists to ensure that contribution is not forgotten.

This site was created by Mark Freer, great-grandson of Albert G. Power, great-nephew of James and May Power, and grandson of Oliver Power. Get in touch →