Painter, born in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, who studied at Kingston University, 1988–9; University of Ulster, 1991–3 (which owns her work); and Royal College of Art, 1993–5. In 1992, she gained a placement at Bazalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, in 1994 a travel award to Asilah Studio, Morocco. After leaving the Royal College, Donnelly began establishing a name as an abstract painter, but by the time of her solo exhibition at Paton Gallery, 1997, her work was figurative, with a forceful style, a tendency to pattern making and elements of Symbolism. She was “interested in the collective memory of enchanted places”. Group shows included Belfast Young Contemporaries, Oxford Street Gallery, Belfast, 1992, and Stratocruising at Raw Gallery, 1996.
Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)