Prolific painter of traditional Irish landscapes, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, who studied at the College of Art there, 1941–5, and with Robert Boyd Morrison. In his early fifties a heart attack prompted Gillespie to give up his business career and concentrate on painting full-time at his studio in Newtownards, County Down. Typical oils were featured in Landscapes North and South, which toured from Glebe House and Gallery, Donegal, in 1997–8.