Sybil Connolly and the King of Pentacles
Sybil Connolly was born in Swansea, Wales, in 1921 to Irish parents. Her family returned to Ireland on the death of her father in 1936. She began her career apprenticing with a dressmaker in London. Returning to Dublin in the 1950s, she joined Richard Alan, a couture house, and eventually became its designer. Sybil’s vision was to place Ireland at the heart of high fashion. This was not a popular or easy goal at the time as post-war Ireland was traditional and cautious, and not a place where ambition was easily embraced.
Yet Sybil persisted. Rather than copy Parisian styles, she drew on distinctly Irish she took native Irish fabrics — Donegal tweed, Carrickmacross lace, and most iconically, crisp pleated linen — and elevated them to haute couture. What others saw as old-fashioned, Sybil saw as untapped luxury. Her signature pleated linen dress required nine yards of fabric for just one yard of finished material.
Her breakthrough in the American market came in 1953 when a group of U.S. department store buyers and fashion journalists visited Ireland and attended a showcase of Connolly’s designs at Dunsany Castle in County Meath. Soon, she was gracing the cover of Life magazine. The New York Times dubbed her “Dublin’s Dior.” Her clients included Jacqueline Kennedy, who famously wore one of Connolly’s dresses for her official White House portrait, as well as Elizabeth Taylor, Marella Agnelli, and members of the Rockefellers.
Sybil’s fashion house on Merrion Square became a thriving enterprise, employing over 100 people at its height, from seamstresses and fabric pleaters to designers and embroiderers. Many of these were women who brought their inherited skills from generations past into a contemporary, world-class atelier. Sybil's business helped revitalise traditional Irish textile industries, creating a sustainable economic model rooted in artistry and heritage.
Sybil’s designs were labours of love; she was deeply involved in every part of the process, from fabric selection to the final fitting. She believed preparation was a form of respect — for the craft, for the wearer, and for Ireland itself.
Later in life, she expanded into interiors and ceramics, collaborating with Tiffany & Co. and Waterford Crystal. Even in her later years, she worked tirelessly, driven not by commercial ambition but by an unwavering dedication to craft.
Sybil Connolly passed away in 1998, but her legacy lives on — her pieces reside in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Museum of Ireland.
The King of Pentacles
Seated on a carved stone throne adorned with bulls, vines, and grapes, the King of Pentacles is the sovereign of stability, wealth, and worldly mastery. He is the final expression of the suit of Pentacles — the culmination of diligence, groundedness, and material wisdom.
This king has walked the long road of effort. He didn’t inherit his kingdom; he built it. His hands may once have tilled the soil, but now they rest confidently on the symbols of prosperity: the golden pentacle in his right hand, the embroidered robe of abundance, the flourishing vines around him. He represents hard-earned security and responsibility.
The King of Pentacles is the archetypal Provider and Steward. He is the one who makes sure the house is warm, the table is full, and the future is provided for. As a person, he may appear reserved, traditional, or even conservative — but his loyalty and dependability are unmatched. He is not seduced by quick wins; his success comes from planning, preparation, and perseverance.
This King is a benefactor — someone who shares his wealth, but wisely. He understands that real abundance comes not only from acquisition but from nurturing resources so that others may thrive, too. He sows seeds with the long game in mind — whether in business, community, or relationships.
The King of Pentacles is the steward of resources, the master of material success, and the provider who builds something lasting not just for himself, but for others. Like this regal tarot archetype, Sybil Connolly was not merely a successful woman in fashion — she was a creator of prosperity, culture, and enduring beauty.
The King of Pentacles does not inherit his kingdom overnight. He earns it through preparation, foresight, and unshakable patience. Sybil Connolly mirrored this archetype in the way she approached her career. Before her name was known in Paris or New York, she apprenticed quietly in London, returning to Ireland not to chase trends, but to craft something deeply her own. She studied the strengths of her native country — the textures of Irish linen, the intricacies of Carrickmacross lace, the skill of local seamstresses—and used them to build an empire that was both profitable and profoundly rooted in national heritage.
Like the King who tends his land with care, Sybil cultivated talent and tradition. Her business in Merrion Square employed over 100 people, many of them women who carried ancestral knowledge of lace-making and textile work. Under her guidance, they became the foundation of a thriving creative economy, and their work travelled the globe draped on the shoulders of First Ladies and film stars.
Sybil Connolly’s strength lay in her willingness to go slow to go far, to prepare thoroughly, and to trust that excellence, when paired with endurance, would eventually be recognised. In a world that often demands instant results, Sybil Connolly remains a timeless reminder that patience and preparation are not the enemies of success — they are its truest foundation.
Wonderful. Loved reading about Sybil Connolly. So much that we can learn from her.