Leo Broe

Baptised Bernard Joseph, Leo Broe was born in Stillorgan Dublin on 16th April 1899 and was the father of Irish sculptor, Desmond Broe. He studied sculpture under Oliver Sheppard at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and was the owner of the firm, Leo Broe and Sons, sculptors, which operated from 94 Harold's Cross Road, Dublin. Specialising in figure-carving, much of Broe's time was taken up with ecclesiastical work for Dublin churches, along with IRA memorials in provincial districts. He exhibited in all the annual exhibitions of the Institute of the Sculptors of Ireland between the years 1953 and 1957 and in the international exhibition at the Dublin Municipal Gallery of Modern Art in 1959, when he was the Institute's president. Accepting numerous private and public commissions, Broe is remembered for his numerous sculptures of IRA volunteers, public personalities such as Countess Markievicz and Patrick Pearse and religious saints such as St Augustine and St Francis and St Clare.

Reference: Snoddy, Theo. Dictionary of Irish Artists: 20th Century (Wolfhound Press, Dublin 1996) 39.