As she sweeps through the hotel lobby, heads turn to take in the grace and glamour of Celia Holman Lee, Limerick’s first lady and doyenne of Ireland’s fashion and modelling scene.

Ahead of her 74th birthday next month, Celia took time to reflect on her life, career and native city, which she says will always be her favourite place to be.

Her eponymous modelling agency is the longest-running in the country, meaning Celia has had a front-row seat to the changes that have taken place in rural Ireland over the past 60 years.

She worked her first modelling job at the tender age of 14 and credits hard work and gritty determination as some of her secrets to success, with her family remaining a constant source of comfort and joy in her life.

“I’ve been working since I was 14 or 15 and I always had a strong work ethic, which I don’t think you can get too far without,” she says.

“I’m still working, and enjoyed another hugely successful year at the National Ploughing Championships in September where we ran three fashion shows on each of the three days with a combined audience of over 3,000 people. I travelled up and down to Ratheniska each day and it was hard work, but that’s something I’ve never been afraid of.”

Agency roots

Celia’s career began in the 1950s when she was spotted by a woman named Anne Maloney, who was setting up an agency in Limerick. She went on to train other girls in posture and runway walk and from there she built her own agency up.

“I was always working for myself, modelling and producing and directing fashion shows, and I knew I could make a living by training models,” she says.

“My son is nearly 50 and I was training girls before he was born. We are the longest-running agency in the country and we were booked for shows and events from Westport all the way down to Kerry and Cork.

“The magazines only wanted models based in Dublin in those times and while we might not have made it as photographic models, no one could touch us on the ramp. My girls were well able to work the clothes, the pose etc.”

Her success throughout rural Ireland was always fulfilling to Celia who resisted any attempts to lure her to Dublin to further her career.

“I was never tempted to go to Dublin. I was an only girl, with two older brothers but my mother never had good health. My auntie Teresa used to tell me it happened after I was born so maybe it was post-natal depression as her nerves were never good. Those words weren’t out there, we didn’t know what we were talking about, but I just could never leave her, I never did. It was hard but the agency was thriving, we were going up and down the country like lunatics. It was a great time.”

Ploughing success

There was little need for Celia to leave her beloved Limerick or her family as news of her talent soon reached those in the industry in the capital.

“In my heyday I booked one of the biggest TV commercials in the country, after an agent I was with sent my photograph to an agent in Dublin. I got the job; it was for ICI fabrics and at the time apparently it was the longest-running ad on the television,” she says.

“I modelled for all the big names at the time, Ib Jorgensen, Pat Crowley, Richard Lewis. Grace O’Shaughnessy was another fabulous colleague of mine. She was huge, she had her own TV show with Thelma Mansfield and she would ask me to appear on that every now and again.”

Her current team of models is, according to Celia, a joy to work with and she says the growth in multiculturalism has opened up a whole new scene for those entering the industry.

“We have fabulous models, male and female, who send in their portfolios wanting a chance,” she says.

“They’re nervous, they need to learn. I had two new girls modelling at the Ploughing and they were petrified. They’re studying in University of Limerick and this is a whole new world for them.

“Looks have always been important but then look at Twiggy, how different she was to the Sophia Lorens of the world at that time, so diversity has always been important, more so now given the influx of different nationalities in Ireland.

How are the cities and towns going to continue where there is no footfall or sense of community anymore?

“They have brought so much to the agency, different attitudes, good attitudes. I won’t work with anyone who brings a bad attitude. They all bring something different to the table. I’ve always believed that a good work ethic will get you anywhere you want to go. Even if all you can do is spell your name, if you can work, a strong work ethic will get you there. A bad attitude will get you nowhere.”

Celia believes that in order for Irish fashion to survive there needs to be a move away from online shopping with more support given to bricks and mortar stores.

“The online business is changing the way our cities, towns and villages are able to operate,” she says.

“People are shopping online despite the boutiques continuing to offer a bricks and mortar shop. It’s not working as far as I’m concerned and I’m over 50 years in the business.

"The businesses were told to go online and they got grants to do it, but the boutiques I deal with are struggling. They have online sales but don’t have people coming through the doors when they’re paying huge rents and staffing costs.

“How are the cities and towns going to continue where there is no footfall or sense of community anymore?

“I don’t know how many boutiques we’ve lost in Limerick and we’re not alone, towns and cities all over the country are in the same boat. Someone was talking about virtual shops and if that’s where we are headed, Christ above, good luck on that, I’m glad I won’t be around to see it.

“It’s taking all the joy out of it and it’s heartbreaking to watch it happening.”

A move toward slow fashion could halt the decline of indigenous Irish fashion retailers, according to Celia who believes there is a place for curated shopping spaces that would entice people back into towns and cities.

“Timing is everything in business, so the time is now for slower fashion and for designing town centres with this in mind where you make shopping an experience.

"You look at Adare which is doing very well, it’s pretty and it has such a varied offering between cafés, shops, museums, walks etc and there are fabulous boutiques and craft shops. It can be done, that’s where I see the future.”

While Celia no longer runs the agency – that task has been delegated to her daughter-in-law – she has plenty of other engagements to keep her busy. But away from the glitz and glamour, her main love is spending time with her family.

“I would never live anywhere in the world unless my family were there, I couldn’t. The minute I see my grandchildren, who age from six to 15, I just feel instant calm.

“I have friends living in Marbella and sometimes my husband Ger would say couldn’t we do that, but I would never go. You’d have to shoot me to get me out of this city.

“It hasn’t been easy, but I don’t deal well with easy.

“It has been a phenomenal journey of hard work, self-worth, achievement and success and I don’t think that would have come if I had it easy or had it handed to me.”