Limerick girl gives the gift of a unique rose to grandfather

A Limerick artist has given her grandfather a 75th birthday he will never forget.

At the age of 11, Sarah Daly, now 19, from Croom, painted a beautiful rose for her granddad Joe Purcell as her first ever piece of art.

To this day, the flower sits proudly in his home.

Now, eight years on, Sarah painted a second picture of a rose especially for her grandfather.

And she surprised him by inviting him to an exhibition where it was proudly on display.

Unlike the other pieces in the exhibition, Sarah's rose was not for sale.

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That’s because it was a beautiful and thoughtful gift for her grandfather on his birthday.

Sarah had the idea after joining Frank Bouchier’s life-drawing class at University of Limerick, where he had invited submissions for his annual exhibition.

The exhibition is currently taking place at the county library in Dooradoyle, and the 19-year-old’s painting is a part of it.

Sarah revealed Joe began crying with happiness when he saw his granddaughter’s latest piece on display.

“I still have the first rose over my computer at home. When I came in here, I didn't know what was going on - she told me it was a surprise! She asked me to find the surprise. I spotted it - straight away,” smiled Joe.

There are 38 pieces of artwork on display in the Dooradoyle library, with at least 15% of the proceeds of each one on sale going to homelessness charity Novas. They will remain on display until Saturday, November 4.