Evelyn Gleeson (15 May 1855 – 20 February 1944) was an English embroidery, carpet, and tapestry designer, who along with Elizabeth and Lily Yeats established the Dun Emer Press.

[2] Edward had a practice in Knutsford, and whilst visiting Ireland he was struck by the unemployment and poverty, so much so he established the Athlone Woollen Mills in 1859 on the advice of his brother-in-law, a textile manufacturer in Lancashire.

While the Gleeson family moved to Athlone in 1863, Evelyn attended school in England where she trained to be a teacher and then studied portraiture in London at the Atelier Ludovici from 1890 to 1892.

He was struck by Gleeson's aptitude for colour-blending, and at this time a number of her designs were purchased by Templeton Carpets of Glasgow,[1] as Millar was their artistic director.

On the advice of her friend Augustine Henry, Gleeson moved away from London smog to Ireland to improve her health, and offered her the finances to establish her own craft centre in the form of a loan of £500.

She discussed these plans with the Yeats sisters, Elizabeth and Lily, who although they were talented craftswomen with a network of influential contacts, they could not contribute any money to the venture.

[1] The studio employed and trained local girls,[3] with the emphasis on using high quality Irish materials to create beautiful, luxury, lasting originally designed objects.

By the late 1900s cooperation between the groups had turned to rivalry, resulting in the Yeats sisters leaving, taking their printing press to their home in Churchtown, Dublin.

Gleeson's rugs, tapestries and embroideries took inspiration from Early Christian interlace and zoomorphic design, with the patronage of the Church remaining their main source of income.

Amongst Gleeson's notable works are the 1919 banner for the Irish Women Workers’ Union and the carpet that was presented to Pope Pius XI in 1932, the year of the Eucharistic Congress.

Kitty worked with her aunt on other Dun Emer commissions, such as the 1917 tapestries for the Honan Chapel in Cork and the gold vestments for St Patrick's church, San Francisco in 1923.