A native of Walkinstown and a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, Deirdre has for a number of years resided in Amsterdam where she is highly regarded by discerning art collectors and museum curators. In Amsterdam in 1972, McLoughlin was inspired to work with clay on encountering the sculptures of Rosemary Andrews. For ten years she worked periodically in studios in Amsterdam and Dublin encouraged by the Dutch born / Irish based artist Sonja Landweer.