User:Smirkybec/sandbox

Early life and family
Cliodhna Cussen was born on 18 September 1932 in Newcastle West, County Limerick. Her parents were Kathleen (nee McCartan) and Robert Cussen, a solicitor. She had 6 siblings. She attended Laurel Hill Convent secondary school, Limerick, and University College Dublin to study history to Masters level. She worked in UCD as a tutor for a period, she went on to qualify as a solicitor, but during her time in UCD she enrolled at the National College of Art specialising in wood carving. In 1955, she travelled to Florence on a scholarship to study.