A life shaped by Kilkenny and Dublin John Comerford grew up in the shadow of the Tholsel in Kilkenny. His father worked as a flax-dresser, a trade that kept the family close to the local rhythms of the town. The boy spent much of his early time looking at the paintings held within Kilkenny Castle and the collections in Carrick-on-Suire. These quiet hours of copying existing works provided a foundation far removed from formal academies.…