Coralie de Burgh

Lady Coralie de Burgh came into this world in dramatic style in 1924. Her mother gave birth to her on the kitchen table at their Bletchingley home in Surrey, lit only by headlamps from a car her father had rigged up. Her father, a Royal Naval Officer, was a descendant of the de Burgh mediaeval earls of Ulster. Coralie began painting at the age of six and continued to do so for three-quarters of a century. She studied at London’s Chelsea School of Art, and went on to specialize in landscapes, especially around Belfast and Northern Ireland. At the age of 20, her first full-length portrait was hung at the Royal Academy, and in one 20-year period, she staged an exhibition every year. It is estimated that in her lifetime, she produced more than 2,000 paintings.

De Burgh was married to the Northern Irish politician and businessman Sir Robert George Caldwell Kinahan, who was lord mayor of Belfast from 1959-61. Coralie was his lady mayoress during that period. She served with the Women’s Royal Navy Service towards the end of World War II and was also the president of the Northern Ireland Red Cross. De Burgh wrote two novels and a family memoire, and was a fine cook and dinner host, an excellent horsewoman, and a singer. She was a relative of the famous singer Chris de Burgh.

Her work The Huntsman may be identical with Ernie Taylor, Huntsman by Lough Neagh (oil on canvas, 51 x 76 cm). Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, located in the center of Northern Ireland.