Br Ciarán Forbes, Limerick, Ireland

"Brother Ciarán was a true friend on both our continents with his colorful demonstrations, classic Irish wit, and a love for the craft of woodturning. He was also highly cultured in poetry and classical music of all kinds and lived out his later years at the Glenstal Abbey where he maintained his woodturning studio.

The passing Brother Ciaran Forbes is a significant blow to the woodturning community both in Ireland and here in the US. A resident of Glenstal Abbey in Limerick, Ciaran demonstrated at our Pasadena conference in 2003 and other venues on that trip including Dale Nish’s in Provo, UT. Ciaran was not only a great production salad bowl turner, he was a poet, humorist and was heavily involved in both classical and contemporary music that included close friendships with Sinead O’Connor, Noirin Ni Riain (Ireland’s most notable singer of religious music) and Cecilia Bartoli, the Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano."

David Ellsworth

Woodturner Br Ciarán Forbes dies aged 79 by Kevin O'Sullivan, Irish Times

The death has occurred of the Benedictine monk and renowned woodturner Br Ciarán Forbes.

He died suddenly on New Year’s Day in Glenstal Abbey, Co Limerick. Aged 79, he entered Glenstal in 1961 and celebrated 60 years a monk in 2021.

His interest in woodturning began when two boys in the Abbey school brought a lathe to the carpentry workshop in 1970.

He was to help lead a renaissance in Irish wood crafts over following decades. His interests were broad but music and singing including Gregorian chant were a central part of his life.

The English woodturner, Richard Raffan, was an early mentor. He cajoled the Devon-based craftsman into allowing him to rough turn his wood for three months while learning the finer techniques of turning large bowls.