Eilis O’Connell studied at Crawford School of Art, Cork and Massachusetts College of Art, Boston. She is a Royal Hibernian Academician, and throughout her career O'Connell has won awards from both the British School at Rome and the Royal Society of Arts and undertaken residencies in both France and Spain.
Many of her works are large scale public commissions, including 'Reedpod', a 13.3 metre sculpture in stainless steel and copper commissioned by Howard Holdings for Lapp Square, Cork, and various works for the Cardiff Bay Art Trust, London Docklands and Bristol Docks, including 'Pero's Birdge' installed in 1999. O'Connell uses a variety of media and techniques, from stone and rubber to steel, cord, or feathers, alongside working with cast metal and sewn fabrications. Her inspirations may come from a wide range of sources including archaeology, architecture or found objects.
O’Connell exhibits widely both in Britain and abroad, and her work is held in public and private collections throughout the world.