Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Ennis monument commemorates nuns

A new sculpture has been unveiled in Ennis, Co. Clare, to commemorate the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy to the town in 1854. 

The monument, which is cut from polished white marble, depicts two of the ‘Seven Works of Mercy’ performed by the nuns and was sculpted by a local artist, Mr Barry Wrafter. 

It is situated in an archway in a lane near the town’s friary and is part of a series of street furniture, which has been developed in recent years as part of the Ennis Sculpture Initiative.

The sculpture was sponsored by Ennis Tidy Towns Committee at a cost of approximately €11,000, and its chairman, Noel Crowley, said it and the other works in the series “definitely enhance the town.”

He said that two of the acts of the Sisters were to clothe the naked and give drink to the thirsty.

“That can be seen in the sculpture, where the Sister of Mercy has wrapped the child with a warm garment and is pouring water into the bowl the girl holds in her hands,” he explained.

“Ennis Tidy Towns have sponsored this particular piece and really it is in commemoration of Mother Catherine McAuley and the inspiration she gave by giving up her fortune to help the poor,” Mr Crowley continued.

“The Sisters came to Ennis in 1854 to work with the poor here and I believe that sentiment is very appropriate at the moment -we badly need inspiration right now.”  Mr Crowley said the location was a “natural home” for the work of art and people passing have been asking if it always had been there.

“A lot of people think it has been here all along and that’s a great endorsement,” he remarked.

“It is a very historic area and of course the whole idea of the sculpture trail is that we have small, narrow streets here in Ennis and people would just come upon sculptures rather than be pointed towards them.

Sculptor Barry Wrafter said the work had proven to be a challenge for him but he was delighted with the finished product.  

“Because of the depth of the space where the sculpture was being placed, it was kind of difficult to figure out the dimensions but I used some visual tricks,” he said.

“I spent about four or five months working on it and I’m very happy with how it came out.”

The Ennis Sculpture Initiative has installed numerous sculptures along the river as well as on the town’s streets.  

The sculptures in the series depict cultural, historical and sporting events.