Let us hay! Scarecrow festival lit up by Pope art
IT’S enough to put the fear of God up any crow – a giant Pope made of straw!
Delivering a holy haymaker to most of the competition at the Durrow Scarecrow Festival in Co. Laois yesterday was the huge straw model of Pope Francis.
Complete with a straw ‘Popemobile’, the heavenly creation won joint first prize in the competition.
Francis is due to visit Ireland later this month and clearly provided divine inspiration for the talented scarecrow’s makers, whose number included engineers and carpenters. The group added lights to the ‘Popemobile’ and a neat feature which saw the scarecrow pontiff ‘wave’ at the touch of a button.
Chairwoman of the Durrow Development Forum, Evelyn Clancy, said there had been a huge amount of interest from across the country in the festival, which also featured depictions of pop culture icons that ranged from Donald Trump to King Kong.
Conahy Vintage Club chairman Michael Bergin told the Leinster Express the men who helped make the scarecrow enjoyed the camaraderie. ‘We always think that big is beautiful,’ he said of the creation.
The papal display was an apt winner as Durrow was home to the only ever Irish Pope. In AD 523, Durrow-born holy man Benedict, a follower of St Enda, was in Rome when serving pope Hormisdas died. Benedict was nominated to be his replacement. However, two days into his papacy, Benedict – who planned to take the name Pupeus – got cold feet and rescinded his consent for the role.