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Rooney was actually born Matin Hasson in 1950 in Northern Ireland; he says that he began painting as young as three years old as that was the first time he picked up a paintbrush. In the 90’s Marthin began experimenting in mixed mediums and different subjects and soon his work was to evolve a different style. His work was portraying a darker harsher side of Irish life depicting scenes of early Ireland settlement and present day struggles.

 

It was this marked change in style that prompted Martin to create a new name to sign his work with and JP Rooney was born. The name was chosen as a reference to a close friend of both him and his wife. The strength of the Rooney name has quickly established and the demand increased rapidly, leading to a series of one man shows and the Rooney paintings becoming the sole representation of his work.