Cork master plasterer 'privileged' to work on restorations at castles, churches and homes

A West Cork woman is the first female to be honoured with a prestigious award that marks her 20-year contribution to the intricate craft of plastering.

Dolcie Ross Keogh, 37, was recently certified a Master Plasterer at a ceremony in London’s Mansion House, which she said was ‘possibly one of the most special days’ in her life.

The mum-of-one, who lives in Ballydehob, travels all over Ireland and the UK with her work, in which she routinely scales 20ft high scaffolding to work on intricate ceilings – one of which recently took 364 days to complete – as well as a wide range of other decorative installations.

Dolcie started her plastering career at the tender age of 16, and said she was hooked from the get-go.

“I got a summer job working on a building site when I was 15 and I met Kevin Holbrook who owned Living With The Past, a restoration and conservation company and who I now refer to as my ‘plasterer dad’.

“He offered me an apprenticeship while I was still at school. I took a month off to try it on a trial basis but my love for the craft was instantaneous.”

The decision must have been a surprise to Dolcie’s parents?

“It was a difficult decision to make, especially as it’s such a male-dominated industry, so yes, they were a little daunted at the thoughts of me leaving formal education after doing my junior cert, but they were very supportive.”

She started out learning the basic elements of plain plastering, but naturally moved towards decorative plastering and conservation, which is her area of expertise.

“That might involve working on cornices, removing and replacing a ceiling in a castle, putting in a decoration in the centre of a ceiling in a regular home, whatever the customer wants!”

Working as a freelancer, Dolcie describes herself as a ‘wandering plasterer,’ but frequently collaborates with ‘dad’ Kevin, and the two were recently involved in a massive project decorating ceilings at Castlefreke Castle, near Clonakilty.

“All the ceilings there are unique and based on Irish and Welsh myths and include dragons and gothic images. There was no architect involved so we had to put pen to paper and come up with the designs ourselves, then make the maquette, that’s a three-dimensional object made as a preparatory study for a full-sized sculpture, and then create and install them.”

The iconic Castle Howard in the UK, Strancally Castle in Waterford, Shandon Church, Blackrock Convent, Gloster House in Offaly, LAS American School, and Leysin in Switzerland are some of the many places that have benefited from her incredible talent.

Dolcie is also working on a conservation project at St Finbarre’s Cathedral in Cork with Kevin Holbrook.

“We’re restoring the original maquettes that were used for the cathedral. They are 150 years old and were kept in a basement for years, where they didn’t see the light of day. It’s a really cool project which I’m very excited about,” she said.

Outside of that, she works on private homes, and says programmes like RTÉ’s The Great Home Revival are helping to ignite people’s appetite for something different, with a move away from ‘carbon copy’ homes.

“People are going back to spending money on their homes, I think, and personalising them. I think after spending so much time at home during covid, people have more of an appetite to make their spaces their own.”

Dolcie says that it’s a ‘privilege’ to be able to work on such a range of buildings.

“I find a real peace when I’m creating. The amount of people I’ve met through work over the years too is incredible, and it’s a joy to be able to create personal things, that will be there for generations, leaving little traces of me around the place. At the end of the day, I’m sure no-one will remember I’ve made them, but who knows, someone might spot a flower or a cherub and recognise it as one of mine!”

Sustainability is important to Dolcie, she’s passionate about it, and for that reason, where possible she prefers to work ‘free-hand’ rather than relying on silicone moulds which can only be used once.

Craft, she says, is such a ‘human thing’, adding: “We’re the only species that creates for no other reason than to create.”

Dolcie always sketches by hand, rather than using computer.

“I like to make things hard for myself! But I always give my clients the sketches afterwards and they really appreciate that,” she said.

Dolcie is also an accomplished musician, playing mainly the violin, and has performed with several bands over the years, “Music has taken a bit of a back seat but it’s still a big love of mine,” she said.

Her fiancé is Robert Collender, former owner of restaurant Mews in Baltimore, and they are parents to six-year-old Elodie.

“Along with my parents, they are my biggest supporters. Plastering is definitely a male-dominated industry and I definitely felt I had to work harder to prove myself, even if that was something I felt I had to do myself. All the plasterers I’ve worked with over the years have been really supportive, but coming up through the ranks, I never once came across another female.”

That’s why she’s now so committed to mentoring and supporting other females entering the industry.

Dolcie teaches on an All Ireland Heritage skills course run by the Heritage Council and The Kings Foundation.

“There are so many girls coming on stream now through apprenticeships, and that’s lovely to see, and I think it’s very important to be able to encourage and support them, particularly as I feel that plastering is something that’s being deskilled in the apprenticeship system.”

With her Master Plasterer Certificate, which recognises those who have achieved the highest level of skills in the industry over a number of years and can demonstrate excellence in the art, craft, science and practice of plastering, Dolcie is keen to do more work like this.

She doesn’t hold lightly the fact that she’s the first female to be honoured by the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers. And she said it was even more special to be recognised alongside Kevin, who also received the Master Plasterer Cert.

Through plastering, she’s certain that she’s found her ‘calling’.

“I just loved it as soon as I got my hands on the materials – I knew it was for life. Here’s to the next 20 years!”