Anger over £30,000 sculpture at bridge

June 1993

There have been more mutterings of discontent around Co. Wexford about a £30,000 sculpture which will be unveiled in Enniscorthy’s Abbey Square, close to the new bridge, at the end of this month. Many have already voiced their displeasure about the design of the new feature.

Now, members of the county’s arts community are also stating their unhappiness, with their specific complaint being that the project was not publicly advertised.

Artists around the county were not given the chance to tender, despite earlier approaches to Wexford Co. Council by local sculptors promoting the value of the 1% scheme.

Under new financial regulations, the Department of the Environment provides 1% of the cost of a major road or building project for the erection of a recreational or artistic feature to enhance the ara.

Wexford Co. Council decided to avail of the offer for the first time on completion of the new bridge and road improvement works in Enniscorthy 18 months ago.

£30,000 was allocated for the project and a local committee was then set up, comprising Council officials, public representatives, Arts Council members, and well-known architect, Arthur Gibney, to decide how it should be spent.

Acclaimed sculptor Conor Fallon, a native of Wexford town now living in Co. Wicklow, was awarded the contract. His creation, which features a fifteen-feet high stainless steel bird rising out of water, will be in situ by the end of the month.

Five others were also invited to submit designs for consideration, of which three responded.

Other artists are unhappy though that they did not have the opportunity to also submit designs by way of open tender.

A Council spokesman this week defended the decision to not go to public tender, saying it would have slowed down the project too much.

‘If we had done it by public competition, we would have got a huge number of entries. We wanted to proceed with the project speedily, because the money wouldn’t have been there forever,’ he said.