{"id":287268,"date":"2026-02-08T12:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T12:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/287268\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T12:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T12:30:09","slug":"life-as-one-of-irelands-last-courtroom-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/287268\/","title":{"rendered":"Life as one of Ireland\u2019s last courtroom artists"},"content":{"rendered":"

He was the prime suspect for two of the biggest armed robberies in Irish history.<\/p>\n

However, one of Ireland\u2019s only active courtroom artists got to see a very different side to Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch after visiting his home for a commission with a difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mike O\u2019Donnell\u2019s career might be regarded as extraordinary, even by artists\u2019 standards. But the former primary and secondary school teacher takes these surreal encounters in his stride.<\/p>\n

He recalled his afternoon with Hutch, who was the prime suspect for a bank robbery at Marino Mart in 1987 and the Brinks robbery in 1995.<\/p>\n

\u201cI brought a tart from Kerry that had just been cooked, so we had tea and tart together,” says O\u2019Donnell. “In the meantime, I was drawing him for maybe an hour or an hour and a half. He was sitting there patiently in all these different poses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was before his bid for the D\u00e1il in 2024. He was very warm and polite for the duration of my visit. It felt completely normal at the time. It\u2019s only on reflection that these moments feel surreal. When I\u2019m working, I\u2019m just going with the flow, so it doesn\u2019t really faze me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA sketch of Gerry \u2018The Monk\u2019 Hutch, by court artist Mike O\u2019Donnell, who painted him at his Dublin home. \u2018It felt completely normal at the time,\u2019 says O\u2019Donnell. \u2018It\u2019s only on reflection that these moments feel surreal.\u2019<\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Donnell had previously captured the likeness of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch during his 12-week trial at the Special Criminal Court, where Hutch was acquitted of the 2016 murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel.<\/p>\n

Conor McGregor<\/a>, who he sketched during his civil case at Ireland\u2019s High Court, also features in his portfolio. The mixed martial arts fighter was ordered to hand over \u20ac248,000<\/a> in damages after the jury in a civil rape case found McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand in a 2018 hotel room incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI drew him multiple times at his High Court hearing,” says O\u2019Donnell. “He was really interesting, because he was absolutely full of energy. It was like he had this electricity around him. His lawyer was a lovely man and would intentionally move out of the way so that I could draw him.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Wolves in sheep\u2019s clothing’<\/p>\n

He stressed that looks can be deceiving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been up close to people who have done terrible things,\u201d the artist says.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople sometimes attribute physical characteristics to certain personalities. However, from my own perspective, they never usually align.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, I recently saw a guy who was convicted of organised crime. He had done everything from threatening people to demanding money over drugs and generally making people\u2019s lives a misery.<\/p>\n

\n What intrigued me was how innocent he looked. He looked like the kind of harmless guy you would meet in a bar.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

He said there is the old adage about \u201cwolves dressed in sheep\u2019s clothing\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese criminals and abusers have engineered their way into people\u2019s lives, and can be there for years,\u201d says O\u2019Donnell.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that most of them are extremely clever. I\u2019m suspicious of people who are overly polite and nice now. Of course, there are lots of exceptions, but this is an evolutionary device to win confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might explain why I am on my guard so much when it comes to people who are polite.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘I was around nine when I started drawing in court’<\/p>\n

While Mr O\u2019Donnell became a professional courtroom artist 16 years ago, his love for art and the judicial system dates back to his childhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prime influence was my father, who was an artist through and through,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that time he wasn\u2019t a professional artist, but I grew up in a household that was full of drawings and paintings. My granduncle was the prefect in the Vatican Library, and he used to bring home books from Rome on art.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a very young age, I was exposed to the Leonardos and Michelangelos of this world. These were the artists I grew up with. However, the first piece of art I ever saw was a big mural in my house that my dad did of Tralee Bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could create literally anything with his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Donnell\u2019s earlier subjects had proved too restless to sketch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up with two brothers who spent their time playing football. I couldn\u2019t draw them because they were always on the move,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the reason I went to the local court. I suppose it was the most convenient place because it was so nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was around nine years old when I started drawing in court. Being so young, I didn\u2019t know much about it. I had watched a lot of detective movies, but it was on the television show Kojak that I spotted a man drawing in court for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real thing wasn\u2019t anything like what I had seen on television. I\u2019m fairly sure it was a drunk-driving case. I have no idea where the picture went, or even what it looked like.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen an ugly person’<\/p>\n

\n THE former teacher is known for finding beauty in unlikely places.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situations are terrible, but the forms are extraordinary,” he says. “They are the ultimate in evolution. I\u2019ve a masters in science, so this is how I look at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nobody that I see who isn\u2019t interesting and who doesn\u2019t impress on my mind. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen an ugly person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barristers, lawyers, and judges often purchase or are gifted courtroom sketches from Mr O\u2019Donnell, often to mark high-profile cases in which they were involved.<\/p>\n

Such illustrations are often treated as keepsakes, with law firms often requesting artwork portraying their attorneys at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy clients are not so much the media as they are barristers and judges,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I deal with the media, they aren\u2019t my main focus. It\u2019s mainly barristers and judges who buy my work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DJ Carey case: ‘I couldn\u2019t help but feel disappointed’<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey pleaded guilty to 10 counts of deception. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin<\/p>\n

DJ Carey is among the infamous celebrities featured in Mr O\u2019Donnell\u2019s artwork.<\/p>\n

The former Kilkenny hurler pleaded guilty to 10 counts of deception in November 2025 and was sentenced to five and a half years\u2019 imprisonment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DJ Carey one was particularly intriguing, but disappointing because\u00a0\u2014 like in thousands of other cases in Ireland\u00a0\u2014 I\u2019ve had cancer and I\u2019ve gone through chemo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully I\u2019ve come out the other side, but to see somebody exploit the vulnerability of people by pretending they have cancer was very depressing. He was as much an artist on the field as I am in the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople loved and admired him, which makes it much sadder in my mind. Only the judge can pass judgement. I just observe, but on that occasion I couldn\u2019t help but feel disappointed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found myself empathising with the people who had been defrauded. What\u2019s sad is there are plenty of people who are genuinely sick that would never ask for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enoch Burke<\/p>\n

\"EnochEnoch Burke has had numerous stints in prison. Picture:\u00a0Brian Lawless\/PA<\/p>\n

The artist has also captured the likeness of teacher Enoch Burke, who was suspended by Wilson\u2019s Hospital School in 2022.<\/p>\n

It follows an incident that saw him publicly confront the principal in relation to an email about a student\u2019s change of name and pronouns. Mr Burke has had numerous stints in prison since then after repeatedly turning up at the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a great deal of sympathy for the judges who are dealing with this case,” says O\u2019Donnell. “From what I can see, Judge Cregan\u2019s approach has been very wise and sensible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find him to be a very humane and real person, with a great reputation. I don\u2019t think he could be more patient.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The world can\u2019t operate without a system of rules, and you can\u2019t just have a flagrant disregard for those rules and the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnoch Burke has to pay the price, and that\u2019s why he\u2019s in jail. I just don\u2019t understand that kind of contempt for the law and I don\u2019t think it could have anything at all to do with religious beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He was the prime suspect for two of the biggest armed robberies in Irish history. However, one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,61,60,4189,42466],"class_list":{"0":"post-287268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-long-read","12":"tag-special-reports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}