WATCH: ‘Life-sized’ mammoth sculpture arrives in Belturbet
GSI funded project ties in with wider Geopark legacy.
Around 10,000 years after the last of its kind went extinct; the hulking mass of a Woolly Mammoth has made a dramatic reappearance… in Belturbet.
Measuring 12 foot in height and 18 foot “from tusk tips to tail”, the life-sized structure was delivered by artist Marc Kelly to the mammoth’s new stomping ground, in specially cleared area within the grounds of Belturbet Heritage Railway Station on Wednesday morning, April 5.
Funded by a Geoheritage grant from Geological Survey Ireland, and tying in with the prehistoric footprint of the Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark, its hoped the new arrival will not just encourage tourism, but also assist in educating generations as to how mammoths once roamed the tundra’s of Europe before dying out when the climate changed and the land returned to ice.
Work on reanimating this historic legacy was undertaken by award winning Marc, who was commissioned to deliver the work by local development group Project Belturbet, in cooperation with Belturbet Community Development Association.
It was a resident from Belturbet, Francis Nevill, who recorded Europe’s first discovery of the remnants of a woolly mammoth in right here in Cavan in 1714, on lands through which the Bunnoe River runs, surrounded by townlands Magherintemple, Lattacapple, Corrinshingo and Coppanagh.
“It was quite a sight,” laughs Marc, who began work on the project back at the end summer 2022 by 3-D printing a scale model of his finished design to help him better visualise the task ahead. “It was an early start to try beat the traffic but even at that there was a few funny looks alright, traffic stopping as we were taking it from the studio and loading it up. It was a good hour being towed on the road. Not your standard delivery, definitely not.”
‘Excitement’
Julie McAvinney, coordinator behind the commissioning of the mammoth structure, described the sense of excitement at the mammoth’s arrival. She also advised the public to visit the site when it is perhaps more accessible, with plans to install a gravel viewing area and benches nearby.
“We are very excited today in Belturbet as finally our Woolly Mammoth has arrived in town. PROJECT Belturbet and the BCDA are delighted with Sculpture Marc Kelly's life-size design. It is 12ft tall, 4ft wide, 18ft long from tusk tips to tail. This will be an outdoor educational space and link to walks on Turbet Island and the Railway museum.”
She added that the Geopark are currently working on updating and installing information boards in and around the area.
“The Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark is working on the information boards and the area around the mammoth needs to be developed. We would advise people to maybe wait and visit when site is more accessible. The Woolly Mammoth was funded by a Geoheritage grant from Geological Survey Ireland.”
See full report in next week's Anglo-Celt newspaper.