NEW PIECE IS TALKING POINT

OCTOBER 2003

THERE is no shortage of volunteers to try out the Conversation Circle at Ice House Hill.

Children jostle to get the chance to sit in the beautiful woodturned seats created by Liam O’Neill.

Commissioned by the Naughton Foundation, the installation of the piece is another step towards the creation of a Sculpture Park in Ice House Hill.

Speaking at the official unveiling, Martin Naughton recalls how his family moved to Dundalk when he was two and his father built a house nearby in The Laurels.

Mr O’Neill explains he is inspired to create the piece by the stone conversation circle he sees in a college in the United States.

The wood comes from giant Redwood trees, four from Dublin and two from Belfast, so it is symbolic the circle is located in Dundalk, halfway between the two.

He says it is important that local people should take ownership of the pieces.

Artist Liam O’Neill (2nd from Right) with his wife Cathy, Martin Naughton and Minister Dermot Ahern TD at the 2003 official opening of “Conversation Circle” by Minister Dermot Ahern TD in Ice House Hill.