Ronan and Cisco’s work of art goes on display in Dallas urban development
A work of art, designed by Drogheda man Ronan Halpin and created at Cisco Engineering in Drogheda, has gone on display to the amazement of the population of Dallas, Texas.
Now based on Achill island, sculptor Ronan Halpin was commissioned in January this year for a major outdoor sculpture in Dallas after Lucy Billingsly, the head of the Billingsly Corporation in Dallas, spotted some of Ronan’s work while was holidaying in Ireland.
A phone call followed on her return home and Ronan was asked to submit some ideas for the commission. He submitted three possible proposals and after a number of weeks of discussions back and forth over the Atlantic the corporation chose one of Ronan’s proposals, ‘Icarus’.
The commission, won by Ronan, was for the centre piece of Billingsly Company’s latest development in Dallas. The new enterprise comprises a 1000 acre multi functional urban development centred around a 290 acre lake. The sculpture is sited at an area known as ‘ The Sound’ by the edge of the lake.
Icarus is 8.5 metres or 28ft high and is constructed in bronze, stainless steel and Corten steel. The sculpture depicts a winged figure standing at the peak of a zig zag steel structure with its wings spread ready for flight.
One of the figure’s wings is whole, while the other is merely a fragile, skeletal structure. Part of the sculpture was made at Ronan’s studio on Achill Island and also at Tim Morris foundry in Co Mayo, the rest at Cisco engineering works in Drogheda.
The sculpture was completed in May this year and was then crated in parts and shipped in a 40ft container to Houston and on to Dallas, the oversea journey taking over two weeks. And now, finally, after several months of planning the sculpture was installed beside the lake.
Ronan and his wife Mandy travelled to Dallas to assist the local crew with the re-assembly of the sculpture and the final erection at its new home.