Stuart returns to view her own sculpture

Internationally renowned artist Imogen Stuart returned to Cavan Town last week to appreciate her Arch of Peace sculpture up close at its new location.

It was fitting that over three decades after Imogen had attended its offical unveiling on Market Square, she would be welcomed back to view its new home on a grassy bank on Farnham Road. While the heatwave made it somewhat uncomfortable to view the work for too long, the blazing sun certainly lit up the trio of blazing white stone hands.

She fondly recalls the first time her statue was installed in Market Square back in 1989.

"I loved the opening of it, children dancing around," she tells the Celt having taken a seat on the newly created plinth. "They're all grown up now," she surmises of the dancers.

Now aged 96, Imogen's German heritage remains evident in her accent despite having spent most of her life in Ireland.

The Celt asks if Imogen had the chance to remake the sculpture, would she make any changes? She is adamant she wouldn't.

"No, I'm very happy with it, it looks very, very good and I like the surface - the surface is lovely. I'm very happy in every way."

While it was Imogen's idea and design, she collaborated closely with Phil O'Neill a carver based in the Dublin mountains to realise her vision.

"I had a wonderful stone carver and we worked very closely together," she says of Phil, adding "I was always there" during the time of the sculpting process.

"Even at that time I couldn't carve stone - I was always a wood carver."

While the Celt's story at the time reported the sculpture was made from travertine, Imogen is adamant it is a different stone, likely Portuguese limestone.

She rummages about in her memory for the design process over three decades ago.

"I did first drawings and then I imagined and then I made a model for him."

She says the model would have been created in either clay or polystyrene, but since she disliked working with the former, she suspects she worked in the latter.

"Polystyrene is quite good when you are carving something in stone," she recalls.

"Whatever I gave him as a model, is exactly the way he turned it out. We worked more or less for 70 years together."

Imogen had been invited back to Cavan by Cavan County Council who had commissioned the original work and had arranged its move to facilitate the upgrade of Market Square. Accordingly Cathaoirleach Philip Brady, Director of Services Eoin Doyle and a number of staff from Cavan Arts Office attended to welcome Imogen, who was joined by her daughter Aisling Law and family friend Mina Tenison, to the county.

The relaxed gathering at the Arch of Peace marked one of Philip Brady's very first functions as Cathaoirleach.

"It's great to be here," said the Mullahoran man. "The Good Friday Agreement has been on everyone's lip for the last couple of months, so for this to be one of the first events I've come to as cathaoirleach is great."

The Cathaoirleach expressed his genuine admiration for the work.

"I think it's a fabulous piece. It would remind you of the old dolmens - two pillars coming up and the flat structure on top."

He noted given the impressive size of the work, it was hard to find a suitable space to do it justice.

"I think this is a perfect area for it," he said, noting Imogen's support for the location. "I think if it were anywhere else it would lose its focus and value."

Seven years have passed since the hands were dismantled, and put into storage to facilitate the revamp of the Market Square.

Rhonda Tidy of Cavan's Public Arts Office took the lead in finding a new home for the large work on the green bank next to Cavan Mart and facing McCarren's. She acknowledged Imogen's patience while the work was dismantled and sat in storage before its resurrection seven years later.

"I think it was worth the wait to get the right location, and Imogen is quite happy with that," she said.

Rhonda simply loves the work believing it "represents an enduring peace".

"It's beauty is in its simplicity. It's got a simple strength, and also a grace and an elegance which says something about the fragility of the subject matter it's addressing. But underlying that is the obvious strength in the piece," she says.

"From my point of view, this is probably the most significant piece of public art in the county, as it was when it was first commissioned - and that's not to in anyway diminish the power of other works. But I think the timing, the artist that was commissioned, what it represented then, what it represents now, it's enduring popularity and contemporaneity hasn't been lost in the course of time."

Imogen too ranks the Arch of Peace as amongst her best work in a very lengthy and productive career.

"This is outstanding. I have some in Dublin and something in Paris - something big, so I have a few very important pieces.

“It's one of my nicest pieces, especially I see it now the way it stands now - you see it. It looks so clean and nice.

The peace message was central to her view of the work.

"That's very important. It may also be very important if there is ever no more borders between north and south - we don't know that yet of course.""

However, Imogen looked forward to further works being undertaken to enhance this section of Farnham Road.

"I'm very happy at the but I would like it developed around here and that means you have to have a few people work on that," she said pointedly in earshot of Rhonda Tidy and the Cathaoirleach.

"I hope it will stand another 50 years, 100 years here."