However, all was not well in her world. Her marriage was failing and unable to divorce in 60s Ireland she asked for a legal separation. Clodagh had to live with her husband for a further five years. On separating, a trip to glitzy Mojacar in South East Spain in 1971 presented a life-changing moment. A chance meeting with an American screenwriter on a beach in Spain led to a move to the US where she reinvented herself as an interior designer. By 1971, she had changed countries, careers and husbands in one year. Personal tragedy followed but Clodagh, in typical spirit, powered on.
Clodagh has been living and working in New York for the last 40 years and is renowned for her spas, hotels and private residences all over the world.
But how did a young girl from the west of Ireland achieve the unlikely status of becoming one of the world’s top designers, carving out an illustrious career that spans six decades? Incorporating archive footage from two BBC films made about Clodagh in 1966 and 1989, welcome to the unique world of this inspiring woman.
‘I’ve always had this drive in me to find out who I am creatively, this urge that won’t let me rest quietly’.
A Curious Dog Films Production for RTÉ/BAI. ©2022
Filmed in New York, Spain and Ireland in 2021.