A brandnew sculpture inspired by an important meeting in Mayo history is to be unveiled in Irishtown.
The Mayo County Council Arts Service and Irishtown Community Development are delighted to launch ‘Briathra Talún / Words from the Land’, a public art commission by visual artist Noah Rose.
Special guest speaker Dr. Andrew G. Newby will give a talk on the tenant’s right meeting at Irishtown in April 1879, which subsequently led to the formation of the Land League.
The artwork will be officially launched by Councillor Damien Ryan, Cathaoirleach Claremorris Swinford MD. The launch will be followed by a guided tour and talk with artist Noah Rose. All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be provided.
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Following an open competition, the artist Noah Rose was selected for this commission, an accomplished artist based in Headford, Co. Galway with extensive experience in public art across Ireland, the United Kingdom and internationally.
Through comprehensive research and consultation with the local community, the artist eventually focused on the historical significance of the 1879 Irishtown Tenant Right Meeting.
Noah’s interest in archival research, the Irish language, and history all informed this project. These interests are reflected in the final artwork Briathra Talún / Words from the Land, a sculptural installation consisting of Corten steel columns with laser-cut quotations in Irish and English from newspaper archives, with an accompanying an artist publication.
Dr. Andrew G Newby, Senior Lecturer in Transnational and Comparative History at the University of Jyväskylä specialises in the land question in Victorian Ireland and Scotland.
His published works include Ireland, Radicalism and the Scottish Highlands (EUP, 2007); Michael Davitt: New Perspectives (edited with Fintan Lane, IAP, 2009); Éire na Rúise: An Fhionlainn agus Éire ar thóir na Saoirse (Coiscéim, 2016); and An Fraoch Trí Thine! Micheál Mac Daibhéid, Conradh na talún agus Garbhchíocha na hAlban 1870-1887 (forthcoming, Coiscéim, 2025).
This commission is part of Mayo County Council’s Public Art Programme, funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under the Per Cent for Art Scheme.
This funding enables the Council to commission high quality and ambitious contemporary art for the public to experience and enjoy in everyday settings throughout County Mayo.
The Council extends its sincere appreciation to Irishtown Community Development Company Limited and the Irishtown community for their support and collaboration.
For more information about this project contact Aoife O’Toole, Acting Public Art Coordinator, Mayo Arts Service, Mayo County Council: aotoole@mayococo.ie; 094 9064376.
The artwork will be officially unveiled at Páirc on Tobair, Irishtown, Co. Mayo on April 21, at 2pm.
The artist Noah Rose is based in Headford, County Galway and working internationally. He specialises in creating sculptural work for public space, always developed in response to context, through original research, and often incorporating community engaged practice.
His work is fundamentally interested in investigating the nature of what defines a place, its specific qualities, within its geographical, cultural and socio-historical context.
Working through a variety of media including sculpture, drawing, installation, photography and archival research, his practice is rooted in a passionate desire to understand connections between the past and present.
He has undertaken a significant number of public art commissions across Ireland, the UK and internationally.
Notable commissions and residencies undertaken in Mayo include: ‘Changing Tracks’ (2014), a pan-European public art programme that led to a sculptural installation along the Great Western Greenway and the Tír Sáile Research Residency (2017) in collaboration with artist Selma Makela.
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