In Ireland, there is a long tradition of working in stone. Living and working in Cork, Ken Thompson is perhaps the most renowned exponent of this craft today. Working primarily in stone, but also in wood and bronze, he is self-taught. Inspired and influenced by the ideas and approach to art of Eric Gill, through his friendship with his daughter who lived near Thompson, he also famously acquired the tools, equipment and unfinished work of the celebrated Irish stone carver, Seamus Murphy, who died in 1975. A great deal of Ken Thompson’s work involves lettering and sacred art and he has completed numerous private and public commissions in Ireland and internationally. These include the Air India Disaster Monument in Ahakista, West Cork; the Innocent Victims Memorial at the Great West Entrance to Westminster Abbey; the monument for the late Cardinal Basil Hume for Westminster Cathedral and a number of works for the Irish College in Rome. In 2014, he completed the Stations of the Cross as part of the major restoration project at St Mel’s Cathedral, Longford.