The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Furniture designer and maker’s piece earns Donegal showcase
A KERRY furniture designer and maker has had one of his pieces commissioned for a Donegal County Library, and his work is ready to go on display from November.
Alan Hanafin’s “The Storytelling Chair” was commissioned for Twin Towns Community Library in Stranorlar, and the beautiful piece has been inspired by “Granny’s Wonderful Chair” from the works of Stranorlar storyteller and poet Frances Browne.
Operating as Alan Hanafin Design, Alan’s proposal secured selection by Donegal County Council earlier this year, trumping competition from throughout the country.
A description of the project explained: “In an old time, long ago, when the fairies were in the world, Frances Browne from The Twin Towns started writing the stories and poems that would eventually earn her international attention as The Blind Poetess of Ulster.
“A native of Stranorlar, raised in poverty and blind from birth, Frances Browne’s stories, much translated and still in print today, conjure from the darkness she was born into the most colourfully descriptive and evocative scenes of a Donegal she had never seen.”
“A piece of art surrounded by bookshelves heavy with imagination, enveloping the child lost in a seclusion that only a good book provides, is perhaps the story that will in turn make the chair.”
An excited Alan explained that the impressive chair, over five feet in height with a 34-inch chair, took two months to make. It is in Donegal and will go on display in November, with a reading taking place on the day of the unveiling.
“I think the story of Frances Browne gives this a really good background,” he said. “The chair has a paragraph from that particular story included on its seat, and I’ve also provided six stools so children can sit around as stories are being told. Book extracts are also included on those.” For more information on Alan’s work, visit www.alanhanafin.com.