Michael Healy (14 November 1873[1] – 22 September 1941)[2] was an Irish stained glass artist, one of a small number which included Wilhelmina Geddes, Evie Hone, and Harry Clarke, who achieved international recognition for their work in this medium in the first half of the 20th century.

He also achieved some distinction as an illustrator and cartoonist early on in his artistic career, and as an ongoing recorder (in rapid pencil and watercolour impressions) of Dublin street characters going about their daily business.

In 1897 he secured a job as an illustrator on a new Dominican publication, The Irish Rosary, and subsequently due to the good offices of the editor, Fr Stephen Glendon, he ended up travelling to Florence where he attended the Life School of the Accademia di Belle Arti for eighteen months, an experience that was to have a profound influence on his artistic development.

[4] In the spring of 1901 Healy returned to Ireland and was appointed art master at Newbridge College, County Kildare, where he found time to paint some portraits, though by the end of 1902 he had resigned.

The first two windows designed and painted entirely by Healy, Simeon (1904) and St John (1904), demonstrate his finely honed drawing ability and his natural affinity for the craft that would ensure he would soon eclipse his teacher (Alfred E. Child) and his peers.

Undoubtedly his finest work of this period is his impressive three-light for the chapel of Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare, which depicts three incidents (all nocturnal scenes) from St Joseph's life which occurred around the time of Christ's birth.

The years 1925 to 1927 were particularly productive for Healy: twelve stained glass windows, part involvement in an important commission for Singapore (for Eu Tong Sen), and a small though prestigious presentation panel bound for the distinguished architect Ragnar Östberg in Stockholm.

Significantly, one-third of the windows that Healy executed in this period were overseas commissions, and this was largely brought about by a burgeoning awareness and appreciation of Irish stained glass abroad, particularly in the USA.

In spite of all the applause and congratulatory comment generated by An Túr Gloine's Silver Jubilee celebration, 1928 transpired to be a singularly disappointing year in terms of Healy's output.

Aside from the American window, Healy only completed one single-light in 1931, the sumptuous Our Lady Queen of Heaven for St Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea which pushed the aciding technique to new frontiers.

All nine of these windows number among the finest he executed in a stained glass career that spanned thirty-nine years, however the two that stand out are those for Loughrea Cathedral which are stunning in terms of technique and dramatic interpretation.

Additionally, an extract of his diary for 1916 which deals with the period of the Easter Rising and contains his first-hand observations and references the windows he was working on at the time is in the collection of the National Irish Visual Arts Library, Dublin.