Harry Clarke was born in Dublin in 1890. He was apprenticed to his father who was a controller of a large firm of stained glass workers at 16. He attended Dublin Metropolitan School of Art from 1910-13. He received hree gold medals and two scholarships (one to study cathedral windows in Ile de France). Clarke set up an independent, one-man, stained glass workshop in Dublin; designed and executed numerous incredible windows for churches in England, Ireland, and elsewhere; also secular commissions. He also designed textiles.
Clarke died of tuberculosis in Switzerland in 1931, some said that his death was hastened by breathing in the acid used to etch his stained glass.
His work is breathtaking and original - if you think stained glass is always boring, you're very wrong :) As jessicapierce said " holy shit! " .
Check some out at http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/clarke.htm .