Gabriel Hayes (1909–1978) was an Irish artist born in Monasterevin

Monasterevin

Situated 63 km from Dublin on the R445 road, Monasterevin has been relieved of much through traffic by the opening in 2004 of a new section of the M7 motorway bypassing the town on the N7 Dublin to Limerick route...

, County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

. She was a sculptor

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

 who studied in Dublin, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Hayes was also an accomplished artist with one of her works "The Cork Bowler" selling at Christies in London in May 2000 for 23,500 stg. . Most of her works are in private hands.

Hayes designed several artworks in public

Public

In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...

 and religious buildings in Ireland. Her best known works were the halfpenny

Irish halfpenny (decimal coin)

The decimal halfpenny coin was the smallest denomination of the Irish pound. It was first issued when the Irish currency was decimalised on Decimal Day, 15 February 1971. It was one of three new designs introduced all in bronze and featuring ornamental birds on the reverse. The coin value was...

, penny

Irish penny (decimal coin)

The decimal one penny coin was the second smallest denomination of the Irish pound. It was first issued when the Irish currency was decimalised on Decimal Day, 15 February 1971. It was the second of three new designs introduced all in bronze, the others being a half-penny and a two pence coin...

, and two pence

Irish two pence (decimal coin)

The two pence coin was the third smallest denomination of the Irish pound. It was first issued when the Irish currency was decimalised on Decimal Day, 15 February 1971. The coin was minted until 2000. It was the third of three new designs introduced all in bronze, the others being the halfpenny...

 coins she designed for the Irish decimal currency

Decimal Day

Decimal Day was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.-Old system:Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence , with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a...

 introduced in 1971. She submitted ideas at her own initiative when no design competition was held. She is also responsible for the other aspects of the decimal currency such as lettering and decoration.

In February 2005, when An Post

An Post

An Post is the State-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union...

 issued a set of stamps celebrating female Irish artists, Hayes was commemorated on the 65c stamp with a picture of her work, The Three Graces (1941).

Works on display

• Bas-reliefs (1942) on the facade of Department of Industry and Commerce, Kildare Street, Dublin. Note that this building now holds the Dept. of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Dept. of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

• The Three Graces (1941), Dublin Institute of Technology
  Dublin Institute of Technology
  Dublin Institute of Technology was established officially in 1992 under the but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. The institution can trace its origins back to 1887 with the establishment of various technical institutions in Dublin, Ireland...
  
  , Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin. (Picture.)
• Stations of the Cross in portland stone (1957–69), Galway Cathedral.
• Statue of Luke Wadding (1958), Waterford.
• The Irish halfpenny, penny and two penny decimal coins (withdrawn from circulation in 2002 upon introduction of the euro
  Euro
  The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
  
  currency).
• Stone Madonna on the face of parish church in Leixlip, County Kildare.
• Stone Holy Family on the face of the school of the Holy Family in Newbridge, County Kildare.
• Bronze Madonna on the face of the church in the Black Valley, County Kerry.
• Carving of the Ascension and two mosaics on the face of the parish church in Gurnabraher, Cork. There is also a mosaic behind the altar of the day chapel inside the church.
• Statue of Our Lady above the Franciscan Friary, Merchants Quay, Dublin.
• Stations of the Cross (1933) in plaster relief , Willington Parish, Templeogue, Dublin.