Roscommon-based artist wins award for career she started in her 50s

A Boyle-based artist who swapped a 36-year career in retail management for the easel won the Over 50s Club Award at the Irish Micro Business National Awards 2026.

Margaret Rattigan spent 10 years working as a store manager with Boots in Sligo before leaving her retail career in 2025 to concentrate fully on her art and growing creative business.

Since then, Margaret Rattigan Art has continued to develop with her original paintings, limited-edition framed prints, Miniature Memories collection and art jewellery reaching customers throughout Ireland and beyond.

Margaret said the award, presented at Castle Dargan, Sligo, on October 17th, was particularly meaningful.

“Leaving a long management career and starting again as a full-time artist in my 50s was a huge decision. I knew I wanted to give my art a proper chance, but I could never have predicted how much the business would grow. Winning the Over 50s Club Award was a very special moment and a reminder that it is never too late to change direction and build something new.” She now faces a busy run-up to Christmas. She is in the Glass Pod at The Canopy Shopping Centre, Sligo for a two-week pop-up, before travelling to Dublin for Gifted at the RDS from December 2nd to 6th.

She will then return to the Glass Pod at The Canopy from December 9th through to Christmas Eve.

Margaret’s Miniature Memories collection features small framed limited-edition prints created from her original paintings, with gifts across her collections starting from €28.

She thanked Jon Dunt, manager of The Canopy, for making the Glass Pod available to artists, crafters and independent traders, giving small businesses the opportunity to showcase their work and meet customers face-to-face.

Despite the growth of the business, she says painting remains at the heart of everything she does. “For me, the business has grown from the paintings, and I never want to lose sight of that. The most exciting part is still getting an idea, putting a blank canvas on the easel and seeing where it takes me.”