A series of sculptures commissioned to mark Dublin's 1000th birthday are nearing completion.
At the Fás training centre in Finglas, ten sculptors are working on new works of sculpture to celebrate Dublin being a thousand years old and regenerate the city.
The sculptures were commissioned as part of the Dublin Millennium Sculpture Symposium. Symposium coordinator Eileen MacDonagh says each symposium is different due to the sponsors and facilities available. The symposium main sponsors are Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Dublin Corporation while other sponsors are generously offering materials.
Michael Bulfin’s sculpture 'A Walk Among Stone' selected for Ballymun, is currently in model form. When in position it will constitute a lengthy path of alternating blocks of Wicklow granite boulders and concrete cast in Fás.
It is also, if you look at the design carefully, a design for kids to play through.
Rachel Joynt’s commission ‘People's Island’ consists of 400 paving slabs inlaid with brass footprints and bird feet. The slabs will be laid at a pedestrian island at the junction of D'Olier Street and Westmorland Street near Dublin's O'Connell Bridge.
When finished, artist Betty Maguire’s metal sculpture 'Baite’ will be a forty foot long Viking ship, a reminder of Dulins Viking history. It will be placed at Essex quay, near to the controversial Dublin City Council Civic Offices development on Wood Quay.
'Trace’ by Grace Weir was selected for the corner of Merrion Row and Saint Stephen’s Green east. It is comprised of two archways made of Portland stone from the Customs House, limestone, bronze and stainless steel.
‘Adult and Child Seat’ by Jim Flavin is being made for Saint Catherine's Park in Pimlico. The park used to be a cemetery and this artwork in the form of a bronze curvilinear seat celebrates
Life going on and continuing maybe beyond something after death.
The first of the ten commissions unveiled, and winner of the Dublin Millennium Sculpture Symposium Award was 'Liberty Bell' by Vivienne Roche. The sculpture, a large suspended bronze bell in Saint Patrick’s Park in the Liberties was received on behalf of the city by Lord Mayor of Dublin Ben Briscoe.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 11 July 1988. The reporter is Anna Chisnall.
